16 goals in 3 matches. That’s a statistic of a World-Class attacking team and Manchester City had been flawless in their matches against Norwich, Arsenal and RB Leipzig with 12 different goalscorers in these 3 competitive games.
But the draw against Southampton proves that Manchester City might need a prolific striker in their side if they are to defend their Premier League title and challenge for their first-ever UCL trophy.
The Champions were held 0-0 at home against Southampton, even lucky to get away from an overturned red card decision which would have otherwise led to a Southampton penalty. Manchester City had 8 shots on target in the game and even had a late Sterling winner termed offside to deny them the 3 points.
Such matches are no surprise in the premier league where teams tend to defend deep against the big guns, fighting hard to salvage a point. Southampton succeeded in doing that. The difference-maker in such instances often is that prolific No. 9 who needs one opportunity to hit the net. Manchester City evidently has no one.
Since Aguero departed from the club and ended his 10-year stint as the Manchester City striker, it was expected that the club would announce a big-name replacement. And, not like they did not try to do that. When Harry Kane expressed his intentions to leave the club last season, the destination was almost certain. Manchester City was clearly interested in bringing him to the club alongside Aston Villa winger Jack Grealish and even reportedly made a whopping 150 million bid to do so. If this transfer window— that has seen the entire complexion of the footballing world being moved— missed something, it was this dream transfer. Tottenham managed to hold on to Harry Kane.
A recent example of a No. 9 making difference was Chelsea’s game in their match against Zenit St Petersburg in the Champions League. The match was headed for a draw when, BANG! Their 97m Euros worth striker Romelu Lukaku scored out of nowhere ensuring a hard-fought 1-0 win.
Manchester City needs a proper No. 9 in their team, with forward Gabriel Jesus failing to maintain the form required and Torres not really belonging to that position. The Challenge too has increased. Chelsea looks solid with the signing of Romelu Lukaku, Liverpool are back after Van Dijk’s return from injury and well, arguable the best goalscorer of all time, Ronaldo having returned to rivals Manchester United.
The City’s pursuit will now resume in January, where they have the option to either go all out or make a signing in the interim. What will be exciting to see is if they decide to do the former, where strikers Erling Haaland and Mbappe could be possible transfers, looking at the value City might be able to spend and these players expected to move on from their respective clubs sooner than later.