Manchester City are still looking for a super-scorer. Will it tempt Haaland, Lewandowski or Kane next summer?

The transfer window, which closed just a few days ago, did not end with the expected success for the reigning Premier League champions Manchester City in the form of a new world-class sniper. So already the debate is raging about who Guardiola will snap up next summer. Will it be Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, or perhaps Robert Lewandowski?

“With Sergio Agüero gone, a great legend, replacing his contribution to the club will be extremely difficult,” Manchester City president Khaldoon Al Mubarak shared his concerns earlier this summer. “But I am confident that we will find the right player who can do it,” he added.

Only now we are days into the transfer window and the Light Blues remain without an obvious star in attack who can smoothly plug the hole left by the Argentine.

Certainly, finding a successful successor to the top scorer in club history and a player with 28 or more goals scored in seven out of ten seasons is a task that even Sherlock Holmes would have trouble with. But it’s also the task they gave top priority to at the Etihad Stadium before the summer. And which they haven’t fulfilled.

The truth is that Agüero’s contribution to Pep Guardiola’s squad has steeply declined over the last two years and the Spanish coach has managed to find a way to win without the classic centre forward.

However, despite the prestigious domestic titles, the Citizens still lack the recipe to dominate the Eared trophy. And many football experts believe that without the big sniper, it simply won’t work. But there aren’t many strikers in the world who can truly strengthen the Premier League winners.

One of them seems to be a man ranked among the absolute best strikers on the planet who has never won anything big. Surely it’s not hard to guess that we’re talking about Harry Kane, almost considered by some to be a Manchester City player in recent weeks.

However, the 28-year-old Englishman’s dream transfer has been dashed by the tough and uncompromising approach of the dreaded buffoon Daniel Levy.

And so Guardiola has been somewhat forced to declare that he is happy with his squad for the next nine months, from which Ferran Torres, Gabriel Jesus or Raheem Sterling can play at number nine.

After their performances last year, there can be little doubt that this is how it will work. But equally, there can be no doubt that Manchester City will return to the transfer market next summer with a clear main objective – to acquire a super-scorer. And that he will be really sharp in negotiations.

After all, while the summer of 2021 will be stored in our memories mainly thanks to the moves of real legends of football led by Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the summer of 2022 is to be marked by the moves of future megastars such as Kylian Mbappé or Erling Haaland.

And the Citizens’ ambition can’t be other than to try and snare one of them. With the former, however, it will be extremely difficult, indeed almost impossible.

Although the French world champion will be completely free after the season just started, having repeatedly rejected PSG’s offers for a contract extension, everything is pointing towards his transfer to Real Madrid.

Far more realistic, however, is the option with the Norwegian international, whose exit clause of perhaps a ridiculous €75 million is expected to be activated at the end of the 2021/22 season.

The fact that Haaland has a relatively close relationship with the English champions could also help. After all, the 22-year-old Borussia Dortmund striker was a huge Manchester City fan at least as a youngster when his father Alfie played for them.

And as for the competition? Chelsea, who were very interested in Nora, preferred to reach for Romelu Lukaku. Manchester United’s coffers will be swinging enough to pay out Cristiano Ronaldo over the next two years. Barcelona’s financial problems won’t allow a big signing and Real Madrid will be completely satisfied with Mbappé.

So there can only be two serious suitors outside the English big club in theory – Bayern Munich and PSG.

In the German capital, they are slowly planning for the post-Robert Lewandowski era, who has hinted that he would like to face another big challenge before his career ends. And so, potentially, he too could be on the Etihad Stadium turf from next season onwards. However, Erling Haaland’s salary demands could reportedly be too high for the Bavarian club.

The interest from Paris Saint-Germain came to light at the end of the summer, when Mbappé’s departure was imminent. And if the young Frenchman does indeed leave in the next transfer window, the Norwegian striker will undoubtedly be targeted at the Parc des Princes as well.

At the same time, Harry Kane may still remain on Guardiola and co’s list. Negotiations with Tottenham won’t be any easier than they are now, though. After all, the England captain is under contract until 2024.

Or there will be a new discovery that will be really worth it. For example, the 21-year-old Serbian Dusan Vlahovic, who scored an impressive 21 goals for Fiorentina last season. Similarly, a Citizens academy offspring with huge potential, Liam Delap, may catch on.

The possibilities are relatively numerous. Which one will Manchester City reach for?

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