Manchester City are reportedly preparing to table a new bid for Tottenham Hotspur talisman Harry Kane in the January transfer window.
The Citizens were left frustrated in their pursuit of the 28-year-old over the summer, after Spurs chairman Daniel Levy refused to sell the striker, who is valued in excess of £150m.
Offers in the region of £100m and £125m are believe to have been made by City, which Tottenham quickly rebuffed for a player who still has over two-and-a-half years remaining on his contract with the North London outfit.
However, Pep Guardiola is keen to reignite his interest in Kane in the winter window as they still view the England captain as their number one target to fill the void left behind by club legend Sergio Aguero.
Here, Sports Mole looks at how Man City could line up if they manage to bring Kane to the Etihad Stadium in January or in the summer of 2022.
On occasion in recent seasons, City have struggled to convert the plethora of chances they create, with calls for the club to recruit a centre-forward enhanced as a result. The potential addition of Kane – who has netted 228 goals in 352 appearances for Spurs – would surely solve those problems in the final third.
Guardiola has tried the likes of Ferran Torres, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne in a false nine position since Aguero's departure and following Gabriel Jesus revealing his preference to play as a winger.
However, Kane would be expected to lead the line in every fixture, when fit, with City's other attacking options having to fight among themselves to join the England captain in attack.
Following his British-record £100m transfer last summer, Jack Grealish is the most likely candidate to start on the left wing, with either Foden or Riyad Mahrez operating on the opposite flank.
In midfield, Belgian playmaker De Bruyne is a shoo-in to start, dictating play from the right side of a midfield three, and he could be joined by either Ilkay Gundogan or Bernardo Silva, with the latter arguably City's most influential player so far during the 2021-22 campaign.
Defensive midfielders Rodri and Fernandinho continue to compete for a starting role just in front of the back four, with the former seemingly preferred ahead of his Brazilian teammate.
With Benjamin Mendy currently suspended and with Oleksandr Zinchenko having only just recovered from injury, Joao Cancelo has been Guardiola's first-choice left-back this campaign and is performing exceptionally well in tandem with ever-present right-back Kyle Walker.
The presence of Ruben Dias in Guardiola's back four has made City look much stronger in defence since his arrival in the summer of 2020, and although John Stones seemingly had a renaissance alongside the Portuguese international last season, Aymeric Laporte has been able to win back his place in the starting lineup this term, shielding goalkeeper Ederson between the sticks.
Oliver Thomas
