‘Amazing’ Sergio Aguero deserves to be crowned Manchester City’s all-time leading goal-scorer — according to the man who will one day replace him.
Aguero will break the Blues ’ record if he finds the net in the Premier League leaders' Carabao Cup last-16 tie at home to Championship table-toppers Wolves on Tuesday.
The Argentina international is level on 177 goals with the late Eric Brook, whose milestone has stood for 78 years.
Gabriel Jesus , bought last year to be Aguero’s long-term replacement, hailed his fellow South American's remarkable heroics for City since joining in 2012 and said he deserves his place in history.
“I support him and I hope he can beat the record as soon as possible,” said Brazil international Jesus. “He deserves to become the top scorer of this club.
“I get on with Sergio very well. He’s an amazing guy. All of us know what type of player he is. He’s a fantastic person and I’m a fan of his.
“It’s very good to play with him. When you have a good relationship off the pitch, it’s easier to bring it on to the pitch. That’s what we have.
“We help each other, and that helps City. We both defend the shirt of this club, so we pull together on the pitch, the same way we get along off the pitch.
“It’s a very important in a player’s career, especially for a striker, to score a lot of goals.”
Given Aguero’s phenomenal goal return for City, his £38million transfer fee from Atletico Madrid back five years ago seems like a snip when set against the current astronomical figures players are going for — with Neymar having cost Paris Saint-Germain £198m.
Aguero scored on his return to action in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Burnley, following an enforced three-week lay-off after suffering a broken rib when the taxi in which he was travelling came off the road.
Boss Pep Guardiola has hinted Aguero will start against Wolves — the 29-year-old needs game time to get his match sharpness back following his recent absence from the team.
Jesus could start alongside Aguero as the pair had formed an effective strike partnership before the latter’s injury, although Guardiola is likely to choose to rest the former.
If the 20-year-old does feature, he will be looking to extend a remarkable record that has not seen him lose a game in 2017.
Jesus, who joined City in January after a £27m deal the previous summer, was last on the losing side on October 29, 2016 — when his Brazilian club Palmeiras lost 1-0 to Santos.
“I’m very happy to have been all this time without losing a game,” said Jesus.
“But it’s not only me, it’s thanks to the teams and teammates I have played in, such as Palmeiras, the Brazilian national team and now Manchester City.
“I’m very happy to achieve the milestone of a whole year without a defeat. But I must keep working hard in the training sessions and keep performing well in the games.”
Jesus saw his City career interrupted last season, when injury sidelined him for two-and-a-half months, but he has hit the ground running this term and has eight goals from 12 games.
“I think the worst moment of my career so far was the injury I had here,” he said.
“But it didn’t knock me down. I had everybody’s support, from my family and everyone at City. That helped me a lot to overcome the injury.
“I’m really enjoying it here. I’m a really calm person. Obviously, in terms of the city, I miss some things I had when I was living in Brazil, but I’m very happy. Everything is working out.
“I like challenges, so for me it’s been wonderful living here.
“The team’s been working hard and to win games is very important. It’s a good feeling. We’re going to try to keep the momentum, win games and fight for trophies until the end of the season.”
PROBABLE MANCHESTER CITY TEAM VS WOLVES Bravo, Danilo, Mangala, Adarabioyo, Zinchenko, Toure, Gundogan, B Silva, Sterling, Aguero, Jesus.