Dzeko knows the score, says City boss Pellegrini
MANUEL PELLEGRINI has challenged Edin Dzeko to become the goal-hungry player he was when Manchester City signed him from Wolfsburg two years ago.
The Bosnian striker looked a prime candidate to be swept out of the club following the Chilean’s summer appointment.
Last season he never came close to the form he showed during City’s title-winning campaign and there has been strong interest from Italian clubs, particularly Inter Milan.
But despite the arrival of £20m Alvaro Negredo from Sevilla, Dzeko has held onto the target-man slot and gave a man-of-the-match performance in the 4-0 drubbing of Newcastle, even though he failed to get on the scoresheet.
“Dzeko played well against Newcastle, but not very, very well, because for all the things he did, he must score,” says Pellegrini, who takes his team to newly-promoted Cardiff this afternoon.
“If he does that, he will have played very well indeed.
“He had bad luck and there were some good saves by Newcastle’s goalkeeper, but the main thing was he worked for the team.
“There was interest in Dzeko but I spoke with him before I arrived, two or three days before we started the season, and I told him that if he stays here this year, we must see the player City bought two years ago.
“It’s very important for him to know that all of us trust him, not only me but the players and the club too.
“I am confident he will score goals because he’s scored goals his whole career. I don’t expect a certain amount of goals from my strikers. If the team wins, the players who score the goals are not important.”