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Harry Kane tipped to take Prem giant to ‘next level’ after striker comparison

Former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott has urged the club to do all they can to sign Tottenham striker Harry Kane this summer, as he believes Pep Guardiola needs a top centre-forward to sustain success.

Guardiola has been playing without a lead striker in recent weeks and has developed a false No.9 as he has left Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus on the bench, but Lescott told TEAMtalk at a BT Sport event that Kane would take City to another level of dominance if his arrival can be secured.

“If Harry Kane is available, there is no club that doesn’t need him,” declared Lescott, who was a Premier League title winner with City in 2012 and 2014. “If he is available and he wants to come to City, you go and get him.

“The system Pep has been using without a lead centre-forward has been working, but I think as time goes on you do need a striker. You don’t create enough opportunities in every game to score enough goals and strikers have that sense to take chances when they come.

“Looking back to last weekend (against Everton), Sergio’s two goals were instinctive because he could read the situation and he was in the right place. Strikers have instincts that other players don’t and that’s why a player of Harry Kane’s calibre could take City to the next level.

“I believe Ferran Torres has a mindset to score goals, but when I played with Sergio, I could see there were times when he just focused on scoring. He didn’t care about the score, he just wanted a goal and we knew if we did our job, he would score the goals we need.”

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Lescott expects false nine for CL final

With Aguero set to play his final game for City in the Champions League final before finalising a move to Barcelona, Lescott suggests there will be no room for sentiment when Guardiola picks his team for the final.

“I don’t think Aguero will start on Saturday,” he added. “I see Pep reverting back to using the false No.9, but you can see him coming on and making an impact. No player will have an impact at City like Sergio, whatever happens in the future of the club.

“It says a lot of about where City are now that they are favourites to win the Champions League every season. And if they don’t win this final, they will start next season as the favourites to win it again. That shows you how far the club has come and their standing in the game now.”

BT Sport will show Manchester City vs Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League final live from 6pm on Saturday 29th May. Whoever you watch the final with, watch it together with BT. For more info go to btsport.com/final

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