Edin Dzeko was constantly linked with a transfer during the summer window, but he insists he never considered leaving Manchester City.
The Bosnian international was signed by Roberto Mancini in the winter of 2011, when Wolfsburg reluctantly accepted an offer of £27million for his services. However, many believe he has failed to reproduce the form which made him one of the most feared strikers in Europe during his time in Germany, despite a healthy goal return.
Dzeko struggled to nail down a regular starting place under the leadership of Mancini, and even though the Italian coach was sacked at the end of last season, the 27-year-old was heavily linked with an exit from the Etihad Stadium in the summer window. Yet new boss Manuel Pellegrini has given the player a new lease of life, and he has now claimed he was always going to remain at the Blues despite interest from other clubs.
“I think there was a lot of speculation from journalists but I never heard from the club they wanted to sell and you never heard from me that I wanted to leave,” said Dzeko. “I’ve said it before; the manager is very important and for every player it’s important to know the manager believes in him. He gives confidence that can change everything.”
Dzeko has enjoyed an impressive start to the new season, scoring four goals in six matches in all competitions. This takes his tally to 44 strikes in 116 outings since arriving in England, and he will hope to further add to this figure when Bayern Munich visit the Etihad for a UEFA Champions League Group D clash on Wednesday evening.
City, who have failed to progress past the group stage of the competition, will take a big step to putting this record right if they can pick up a win against the reigning champions. Pellegrini’s men started their campaign with a comfortable 3-0 away win at Viktoria Plzen, so if they can go into the double-head with CSKA Moscow on maximum points, they would have to fancy their chances of reaching the knockout stage.
