Manchester City are targeting Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane to supplement the arrival of Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish in this summer’s transfer window.
City sealed the signing of Grealish in a £100million deal that made the England international midfielder the most expensive transfer in Premier League history.
The 25-year-old has featured twice already for his new side and is in line to make his home debut for the Premier League champions this weekend when they welcome Norwich City to the Etihad Stadium.
City also remain interested in Kane, but the England captain is likely to command an even higher fee than Grealish if Spurs agree to sell their star striker.
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So as the transfer window rolls on, what would happen if Kane joined Grealish in making the move to the blue side of Manchester this summer?
To find out, we simulated the 2021/22 season with Kane and Grealish in the City squad to see what could happen.
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2021 editor to arrange for Kane and Grealish to join City ahead of next season.
Kane was thrust straight into City’s front three in place of Sergio Aguero who has left the club upon the expiration of his contract.
However, Grealish began life in Manchester on the substitutes bench with the playmaker failing to convince Pep Guardiola into giving him a starting spot on the teamsheet. But, that soon changed.
Let’s take a look at the duo’s in-game stats underlying their performances and how they performed on the virtual pitch for City in our simulated season.
Harry Kane and Jack Grealish’s stats for City in 2021/22
(Image: Football Manager 2021)
Looking at Harry Kane’s performance across the season, he scored 19 goals and registered eight assists in his debut season in 52 total appearances across all competitions.
Kane also achieved the highest average rating in the Premier League with an 8.10 average rating, ahead of Bruno Fernandes with 7.96 and Kevin De Bruyne with a rating of 7.85.
However, Grealish actually played 51 games in total throughout the 2021/22 season and produced 10 goals, also matching Kane’s assist tally of eight.
Current City star Sterling had a stunning output compared to Kane and Grealish, producing 26 goals and three assists in 58 appearances for Guardiola’s side, suggesting that the attacking threat was shared across the front three throughout the season.
At the end of the 2021/22 season, Football Manager 2021 put together an overall best City XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics.
Manchester City’s best XI for the 2021/22 season as predicted by Football Manager 2021.
(Image: Football Manager 2021)
Full City best XI: Ederson; Cancelo, Laporte, Stones, Ake; Rodri, De Bruyne, Foden; Sterling, Kane, Grealish.
So how did City perform across all competitions in our simulated season with Kane and Grealish in the squad?
City’s simulated 2021/22 season with Kane and Grealish
Here is how the final 2021/22 league table looked once the simulation finished at the end of May 2022.
Manchester City finished in second position, ahead of rivals Manchester United but behind Liverpool in the Premier League 2021/22.
Unfortunately, City finished 10 points behind Liverpool, despite being seven points clear of their Manchester rivals in third position, in what was a poor league campaign by City’s standards.
However, City would go on to win their first-ever Champions League trophy as a single goal from Sterling was enough to create history for the Blues.
City went on to add yet another Carabao Cup to their collection, before crashing out of the FA Cup on penalties to Swansea City in the quarter-finals.
Manchester City’s performances across all competitions in the 2021/22 season.
(Image: Football Manager 2021.)
Football Manager 2021 predicts that Kane and Grealish will both have an impressive debut season and add a significant attacking threat to a strong City side, especially in the cup competitions as they fired Guardiola’s side to a famous cup double, including a historic Champions League title.
The addition of the duo also seemed to have benefitted Sterling who had his best goalscoring season for City since the 2019/20 season.
But, they also had a poor league season by City’s standards in recent campaigns, so would you take Champions League glory if it meant sacrificing a league title next season?
And, would you be happy to see City sign Harry Kane and Jack Grealish ahead of next season? Let us know in the comments!
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