Manchester City are heavily linked with a move for Tottenham's Harry Kane and with Sergio Aguero already out, it could be an opportunity for Gabriel Jesus to step up.
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Pep Guardiola has stressed the importance of Gabriel Jesus to Manchester City. The English Premier League champions have been heavily linked with a move for Tottenham striker Harry Kane this summer. Manchester City are seeking a replacement for Sergio Aguero, who left for Barcelona at the end of last season. Meanwhile Pep’s side played a large part of last season with a false number nine. But they struggled without a proper striker in the previous Champions League final loss to Chelsea.
For Jesus, who has been playing second fiddle to Aguero for the past four years, this could be an opportunity to step forward. The 24-year-old has netted 50 times for the Citizens in 131 Premier League appearances.
“Gabriel is an incredibly important player for us,” said City manager Guardiola, whose side interestingly begin their title defence at Spurs on Sunday.
“Always his mind was in the right place and he can play as a striker or wider, in more lateral positions.
“He is an exceptional player, there is no doubt about that. He has had an incredible key role in these many years of success we’ve had, every season.”
The English captain Kane is still very much a Spurs player. But his big money move to City is still the hottest topic in the footballing world. Manager Guardiola has confirmed City’s interest in the Tottenham captain last week.
Meanwhile Jesus was unavailable for the Community Shield match against Leicester City last week. This is because he was on summer break following Brazil’s Copa America 2021 campaign.
The 24-year-old Brazilian hasn’t always been the first choice striker in Pep’s system. The Spanish coach’s strategy enables multiple goal scoring options, therefore a proper striker’s absence may not always be visible. However Pep knows that to win big tournament’s you need a proper number nine.
Guardiola said: “We played with recognised strikers with Sergio Aguero and Gabriel (last season).
“Unfortunately Sergio was injured for more than a year and he played few, few games but, always when Sergio was fit, he was an important part of the team.
“He was there, a proper striker – and Gabriel is a proper striker. Sometimes we play with a different approach but the intention is the same, to try to control the game and score goals as much as possible with or without a striker.
“It is what has happened since I arrived and we will continue this way.”
