The offseason is here, and that means it’s time to focus on two things- Euro 2021 (preview here) and the summer transfer window. Manchester City have made the promise to replace Sergio Aguero (now with FC Barcelona), so that means upgrading the attack, and splashing the cash in order to do so.
For this edition of Man City transfer talk, we focus on two England internationals, Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane and Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish. The former has been linked with City for some time, the latter, well this is news, definitely.
It seems almost certain that Lionel Messi is not moving over this summer, and it doesn’t look likely that Erling Haaland will either. So that means you have two very high profile targets essentially already ruled out. According to ESPN today, the Etihad values Grealish as highly as they covet Kane.
Grealish, who signed a five year contract extension at AVFC just last year, has also been a long time target of Manchester United. However, ESPN’s sources claim:
“that City believe they can win the race for the 25-year-old, who is rated at £100 million by Villa. Guardiola has been a long-term admirer of Grealish and has previously spoken publicly of his admiration of the player’s ability.”
The report goes on to say that Villa’s recent big expenditures in the transfer market may mean they’re open to parting ways with their captain, but only at the right price. As for Tottenham, obviously, they don’t want to sell off their talisman, but with Kane being open about wanting to move on, to some place where he can win trophies (City is most definitely that), well they might not have a choice.
City won’t likely sign Grealish and Kane, but they could plausibly sign one or the other.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.