City signing Bony among 2014 top scorers

Manchester City FC have completed the signing of Ivory Coast forward Wilfried Bony, the Premier League's top marksman for the calendar year 2014.

Bony has moved to the English champions on a four-and-a-half-year deal from Swansea City AFC, for whom he struck 25 goals in 54 league appearances. He will link up at City with his Ivory Coast team-mate Yaya Touré. Bony, 26, said: "I think it's a great decision for me – Manchester City are in the Champions League. At the end of last season I said that if I moved it would be to a team in the competition because it's a great tournament that I really want to play in and one that I want to win."

City manager Manuel Pellegrini added: "He is very difficult to mark because he is so strong. He is an intelligent footballer who has skill and power. His goals record has been excellent since he came to England. He adapted very quickly to the game here and I think he will settle in at City quickly. He will be a very good addition to our squad. We now have four top-class strikers and I am looking forward to seeing them work together."

UEFA.com marks Bony's transfer by saluting the other leading marksman for 2014 in the top ten leagues in Europe (according to UEFA country coefficient).

Spain: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF) 38
England: Wilfried Bony (Swansea City AFC) 20
Germany: Alexander Meier (Eintracht Frankfurt) 18
Italy: Antonio Di Natale (Udinese Calcio) 21
Portugal: Jackson Martínez (FC Porto) 20
France: Alexandre Lacazette (Olympique Lyonnais) 23
Russia: Hulk (FC Zenit), Seydou Doumbia (PFC CSKA Moskva) 16
Ukraine: Luiz Adriano (FC Shakhtar Donetsk) 16
Netherlands: Memphis Depay (PSV Eindhoven) 16
Belgium: Aleksandar Mitrović (RSC Anderlecht) 17

Honorable mentions to …
Austria: Jonatan Soriano (FC Salzburg) 38
Israel: Eran Zahavi (Maccabi Tel-Aviv FC) 35
Wales: Chris Venables (Aberystwyth Town FC) 39