Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has revealed that injuries to his frontline strikers prompted his decision to move for Swansea City striker Wilfried Bony.
The Ivory Coast international is poised to complete a £30m deal to the Citizens before he joins up with his teammates at the Africa Cup of Nations in the coming days.
Pellegrini has admitted that injuries to Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic during the campaign made him determined to add another top-quality forward to his squad.
He told reporters: "The injuries were part of the decision to go for Bony. It's normal that strikers are more injured than other players, especially here in England where you need strong footballers and it's physical football.
"That's why I said last year, and this year also, we need a fourth striker. And, of course, injuries are one of the reasons why Bony should come. We are going to replace Alvaro Negredo as it was the decision we took in the moment we sold him.
"We decided to see in December if we needed another striker and we do, so we are going to find which is the best player to bring in. It's also important for all players to have competition, because they have their best performance when they have important competition."
City face Everton in their Premier League match at Goodison Park later today.
Simon Sinclair
