Manchester City have announced Sergio Agüero would leave the club this summer on the expiration of his contract after 10 years at the club.
The club’s all-time record goalscorer exits after a trophy-laden decade which leaves him fourth on the all-time Premier League scorers. His lasting legacy, however, is that last-gasp goal against QPR to seal City’s first title in 44 years in 2012.
He has lifted 10 trophies as he alongside the now-departed Yaya Toure, Vincent Kompany and David Silva ushered in a new era of domestic dominance in England; backed by ambitious, wealthy owners.
Agüero could well end his triumphant stint with the club’s first UEFA Champions League trophy at the end of the current season but speculation is already rife as to who will replace the greatest goalscorer in the club’s history.
Who then, will replace Agüero this summer?
95. AGUERO SCORES AND WINS THE LEAGUE!!!!
— Manchester City (@ManCity) May 13, 2012
Harry Kane
Kane is a modern master of the art of goalscoring and has jaw-dropping numbers to back it up. Although Gabriel Jesus has been groomed by Pep Guardiola to one day step into Agüero’s shoes, the Brazilian is nowhere near Kane’s level of finishing.
The Tottenham striker is joint-top scorer with 17 goals and also holds the distinction of the Premier League’s top playmaker with 17 assists from 27 games. With Heung-Min Son, Kane has formed the league’s most-potent goal combination in a season with 14 goals between them, as Kane has enjoyed a deeper role.
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Kane’s talismanic efforts, however, can only earn Spurs sixth position on the table as they have struggled to sustain consistent performances.
It’s no secret that Tottenham’s aim of breaking the jinx to become a regular title-winning club have dimmed with José Mourinho in charge. They could yet win the Carabao Cup on April 25 to end a 13-year trophy drought but there are serious doubts about the club’s progress since sacking Mauricio Pochettino.
With Kane currently in the form of his life and seemingly just entering his peak, there are genuine reasons to leave Spurs when plenty of clubs with greater trophy-winning potential would be interested in him this summer.
Indeed, the 27-year-old deserves a big transfer having earned legendary status at Tottenham. Kane is the club’s second-highest goalscorer of all time with 215 goals in 327 matches, and eighth on the Premier League’s all-time list with 160 having won two Golden Boots.
The England captain also has 33 goals in 52 caps for the Three Lions and won the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot in 2018. So far, the closest Kane has ever come to winning a trophy were in the finals of the 2015 League Cup and 2019 Champions League.
This generational English talent should be lifting Premier League titles and conquering Europe but the years are slipping by and change is needed to win everything his talent deserves.
Par for the course, Robert Lewandowski could be Kane’s perfect case study as he weighs his ambitions in search of team accolades.
The current FIFA The Best Men’s Player of 2020 shot Bayern Munich to the treble last season and is on course for more individual and collective silverware in 2020/21.
But his stratospheric rise wouldn’t have been possible without the difficult decision Lewandowski made in 2014 to leave Borussia Dortmund and join their title rivals Bayern.
The Poland captain moved to Bavaria only a year younger than Kane and since then, has netted an astonishing 263 in 276 games for Bayern and an equally eye-catching 32 in 45 for his country.
The most prolific seasons of his club career have all come after turning 27 and Lewandowski has 42 in the current season, leading in the race for the European Golden Shoe and only six short of Gerd Müller’s 40-year-old record for a single Bundesliga campaign.
Kane is on course to break the all-time goalscoring records for England and the Premier League; and must look to add medals to cement his legacy in the game. Needless to say, a move to Guardiola’s side would help him reach these targets on English soil.
Kane is warding off speculation over his future for now but cannot ignore he would have to make a decision this summer, with Europe’s best circling.
“I think that’s a hard question to answer right now,” he said before the stock reply about being focused exclusively on England’s games and a strong finish to the season with Spurs. “And then we’ll see where we go from there.”
Nevertheless, he is already looking up to Lewandowski’s consistency and achievements.
“I’m 27 and still feel I’ve plenty more years to go and learn and improve. When I look at players like [Lewandowski] it only gives me more motivation to do it as well. I certainly feel I can.”
It is of utmost importance that he follows Lewandowski’s lead and moves for the sake of his career
Erling Haaland
The 20-year-old has flourished at Dortmund since joining from Red Bull Salzburg in January 2020.
The Norway international has scored 49 goals in as many games since the switch and is wanted by the best teams in Europe.
After emerging as one of the hottest properties in Europe, the goalscoring sensation has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League, with Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea all being credited with interest.
His supreme goalscoring talent desperately needs a move to the highest level where he is expected to thrive.
Fifth-placed Dortmund will be keen to cash in should they miss out on a Champions League place for next season, especially as a reduced €75 million release clause becomes active in 2022.
City are one of a handful of clubs who can afford Haaland this summer in the current economic climate.
His pace and athleticism, as well as that clinical goalscoring edge, will be appreciated upfront at City and it could be the start of another devastating era like Agüero oversaw.
Pertinently, Guardiola has the chance to start charming his reported target when City face Dortmund in the Champions League quarter-finals next week. The Norwegian was born in England and his father, Alfe-Inge Haaland also played for the Cityzens.
Should Haaland resist these advances and opt to move elsewhere, Man City know they can fall back on tempting England’s finest modern-day goalscorer.
Or perhaps, Guardiola and the board have an ace up their sleeve? City have the resources to get just anyone.
