New twist in Kane saga as Man City reopen talks with star tipped for Tottenham
Manchester City have reportedly reopened contract talks with Raheem Sterling, who has been linked with a move to Tottenham as part of the deal to bring Harry Kane to The Etihad.
The 26-year-old currently has two years left on his existing City deal but found himself struggling to get into Pep Guardiola’s side towards the end of last season. Indeed, he was replaced by England team-mate Phil Foden in his favoured role on the left side of City’s three-man attack.
With Jack Grealish now arriving from Aston Villa for a British record transfer fee, there have been further rumours that Sterling will be used as a makeweight in a deal for Kane.
However, the Daily Mail states that City are back in dialogue with the former Liverpool star. Their actions are not that surprising, given the fresh links to Spurs and also Arsenal.
Sterling broke off with his agent and handled a part of his last negotiations by himself. However, he failed to reach a conclusion with City chiefs before the start of Euro 2020.
Despite the arrival of Grealish, who also plays as a left-sided attacker, Guardiola is still keen to keep Sterling.
As for the player himself, he is said to favour staying in Manchester. He is not keen on a switch to north London.
Sterling currently earns £300-000-a-week, a figure which is likely to rise with his new deal.
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Tottenham still trying to keep Kane
As for Tottenham, they may not be overly disappointed with the news. Sterling is hardly a like-for-like Kane replacement and they already have the outstanding Son Heung-Min, who plays in Sterling’s position.
Their current focus remains on landing a new striker to either back up Kane or partner him.
Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahovic is a major option, but reports suggest he is close to a new deal with the Serie A club.
Reports on Sunday emerged that Spurs had agreed a fee with Inter Milan for Lautaro Martinez. However, the Italian champions moved quickly to rebuff that talk, despite their financial troubles dictating their summer business.
In terms of City, a central striker does appear to remain their main focus after Sergio Aguero left this summer.
Gabriel Jesus is still on their books but is injury-prone. That leaves Guardiola with a number of playmaking options to use as a ‘false 9’.
A deal for Kane still remains on the agenda, although Tottenham would have to significantly drop their £150million asking price for that to get done.
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