The Athletic’s Sam Lee has claimed that Manchester City were ‘desperate’ to sign a replacement for Sergio Aguero this summer.
When the Argentine left at the end of last season, City boss Pep Guardiola famously declared: ‘We cannot replace him.’
Following a whole summer of attempts, it looks as though Guardiola was correct – though it wasn’t for the want of trying.
The club were very public with their pursuit of Harry Kane throughout the window, but ultimately fell short. While the unthinkable almost happened when Cristiano Ronaldo looked set to sign, the deal never materialised.
Now, while speaking on the latest edition of the Why Always Us? podcast, Lee has explained how the club were ‘convinced’ they would sign an Aguero replacement and their attempts to do so prove how the club see that position as a ‘concern’.
He said: “For Khaldoon Al Mubarak to say, ‘Aguero leaves big shoes to fill, but I’m confident we will fill those shoes’ – it’s obvious that that’s what they wanted to do.
“And it’s not just us sitting here going, ‘Oh, well, they should have done this’. It’s like, they know what they needed to do and they didn’t do it. So therefore, that legitimises it as a concern.
“And again, normally with City, if they don’t get their top target, they say, ‘All right, well, we’re okay, we’ll be fine’. But they were so convinced this time around, and some might use the word desperate, but I think that’s fine.
“Because I think if City hadn’t have tried to get anybody else, you could have said it was complacent or arrogant or whatever. But I think there was a bit of desperation there, after not getting Kane.”
TIF Thoughts on Manchester City’s transfer exploits…
Aguero’s departure will certainly leave a huge gap to fill this season. The prolific striker scored a monumental 184 goals in 275 Premier League games, while also chipping in with 47 assists.
Despite not signing a replacement in the transfer window, the club’s fans will be relieved to see the goals have not dried up in the early stages of the season. Indeed, the City’s first two home league games yielded five goals on both occasions.
Kane and Ronaldo may not be wearing sky blue this campaign, but there’s every chance City will get on just fine without them.