Manchester City Identify New Striker?
By David Crook
Manchester City’s attack has been based around Sergio Aguero since 2011, but with the player entering the final stages of his contract a search has been undergoing looking for a new striker.
That news alone will unlikely come as any great surprise to Manchester City fans who are well aware that our talismanic striker is heading towards the exit. We just don’t want to be reminded of it.
Confusion has reigned over the exact length of his City contract for some time but much of that is probably down to his unrivalled superstar position at the club. Quite frankly, how long he stays is up to Sergio.
In the past Sergio has not helped with the confusion having given at times some conflicting dates to the press and even suggesting he wanted to leave to return to his boy hood club in 2020. There have even been suggestions that Sergio may have some kind of break clause in his contract, allowing a transfer out of Europe as early as this Summer.
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However, despite the rumoured break clause, there appears to be some agreement that the current deal ties Sergio to City until June 2021. Now, for any Club which seems to plan and manage it’s transfer business as well as City then it would appear unlikely we would wait until 2021 to look for a replacement for Sergio. If we did, then we would simply be held by ransom by any selling club.
Much more likely is the idea that City will seek to secure a new striker in 2020, either in the Winter or Summer transfer windows.
Given what we know about the club, it is unlikely we will be willing to pay a fortune for an established star player. Instead we are much more likely too be linked to a young player, to whom we can add value and build our attack around.
It is therefore interesting to note that several media outlets have reported in the last few days that City have identified Erling Braut Haaland as our major target. Haaland is currently in electrifying form for Red Bull Leipzig and is attracting the attention of all of the top European Clubs.
He has scored 26 goals so far in all competitions, in just 18 games
Media reports suggest that City have sought to exploit their relationship with Haaland’s father and have entertained him over the last month. Of course, Erling Haaland’s father is Alf Inge Haaland who played for Manchester City between 2000 and 2003.
Alf Inge was famously the victim of the horror retaliation tackle by Roy Keane which pretty much ended his career as professional footballer back in 2001.
The noises emanating from RB Leipzig seem to suggest the Club is willing to strike a deal for their star player and figures of around £75 million have been hurled around in the press as an attempt to ward off some suitors.
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Clearly for City such a fee may represent a bargain fee and it will be interesting to watch this transfer saga develop over the coming months. It has much the same feeling as the saga of De Jong, where City ultimately lost out. Hopefully, having seen a few of their major targets slip away from their grasp in the last few months, City may reenter the transfer market with more purpose.