Manchester City have not played their best football last week snd they seem to be drastically short of ideas, often standing still on the ball despite being a goal down. It is generally foolish to draw conclusions from the opening round of the season, and that might be especially true for a weekend on which a return to full-capacity crowds injected energy and emotion back into Premier League football.
Harry Kane wants to leave Tottenham, but he is still training with Spurs. Nuno Espirito Santo will express himself again on the physical condition and the future of his striker.
Even with Lionel Messi in his squad, Leonardo does not have enough. With the uncertainty surrounding Kylian Mbappé’s future, the PSG sporting director is reportedly keeping an eye on Tottenham striker Harry Kane. But on his side, the Three Lions captain would like to join Manchester City. A decision that does not delight at all Daniel Levy, his president. And it’s the same for Nuno Espirito Santo, the new coach of Spurs.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is a notoriously difficult negotiator and, outwardly at least, maintains that Kane is not for sale. Meanwhile, the player himself has returned to full training with his current club and it’s even been suggested that he could be picked for the starting XI against Wolves this weekend.
Of course, things can change quickly in football, and the feeling with Man City correspondent Jonathan Smith is that Levy could merely be holding out for someone to table a deal that he feels is satisfactory for one of the best strikers in the world.
Fixture congestion saw Guardiola change tack in 2020-21, slowing matches down by dominating the ball in midfield – and it worked, the quality of his players shining through as they won the Premier League. Perhaps City will have better luck against Norwich on Saturday.
But Manchester City’s defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday was predictable, confirming our pre-season suspicions and setting off the alarm bells.
