Manchester City’s lack of a prolific forward could be costly

19/08/21 2494

Without a doubt, Manchester City were the best team in the Premier League last season, as the Citizens were crowned as English champions. Pep Guardiola’s team often played teams off the pitch.

However, their last three competitive matches have shone a light on a weakness in the champions team, actually putting the ball into the back of the net. City have now failed to score against Chelsea, Leicester and Tottenham.

There just seems to be something missing amid all that possession and attacking promise. That something is a prolific goalscorer. The exit of Sergio Aguero left City with just one senior forward in Gabriel Jesus.

Some will say that Aguero missed most of last season, while Jesus has never really convinced Guardiola as a long-term option. So much so that Spanish attacking midfielder Ferran Torres was selected ahead of him up front last time out.

The Citizens have been continually linked with Tottenham and England captain Harry Kane. The 28-year-old is reportedly keen on the move.

City have already seen a reported bid of around £120m turned down by the north London club. Time is running out until the summer transfer window shuts.

However, it is believed that City and Kane have not given up on a move taking place before the transfer window closes.

The alternative to Kane is City hoping that their attacking midfielders and Jesus can score enough goals to take them to glory. Without Aguero for much of last season, they did the job very well.

However, it is difficult to expect them to be prolific all season. Last season German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan scored a career-high 13 league goals, his previous record was just six in a season. He is unlikely to enjoy a similar goal-laden campaign.

Without a top striker, City may still have enough to retain their top-flight crown. However, signing a top striker would make them an even more difficult team to stop.