Manchester City reveal ‘no Harry Kane’ blueprint in Norwich rout as transfer saga drags on

If Kane does not join, City’s no-striker set up could look different this season

Gabriel Jesus (9) and Jack Grealish both impressed in Saturday’s 5-0 defeat of the Canaries (Getty)

Pep Guardiola has been about as clear as you can expect any manager to be in public when it comes to Harry Kane. If Tottenham Hotspur are willing to negotiate, Manchester City are at the front of the queue. “Harry Kane is an exceptional, extraordinary striker,” he said earlier this month, “no doubts about that. Of course we are interested.”

If an agreement is not reached in the next nine days, however, Guardiola is happy with what he has already got. “I’m more than pleased with the team. I know them really well, they know me really well,” he said after the 5-0 rout of Norwich City on Saturday, which delivered City’s first points of the new Premier League season at the second attempt.

That scoreline and City’s predictably dominant performance display led one of the radio commentators in the Etihad’s press box to round off his full-time report by asking: “Do they really need Harry Kane?” If he had asked the same question after last weekend’s defeat away to a Kane-less Tottenham, the answer would have been a furious, resounding “yes”.

Step back from hot takes forged moments after the final whistle, though, and the truth lies somewhere in between. Kane would unquestionably improve City, elevating the reigning champions to a higher level and provide Guardiola with the physical focal point capable of scoring and linking up play that he has desired throughout his managerial career.

But even without Kane or any kind of recognised centre-forward, City are still a side capable of sweeping all before them. Last season’s canter to their third league title in four years and the run to the Champions League final proved as much. If the Kane pursuit fails, the blueprint is already in place. It may have changed slightly, though, and not only because of the arrival of Jack Grealish.

The £100m signing’s first City goal stole the headlines from Saturday’s win but Gabriel Jesus was unanimously named man of the match. The man who was supposed to be Sergio Aguero’s ready-made heir failed to score himself but instead hit a hat-trick of assists from a new role on the right wing, linking up brilliantly down that flank with the excellent Kyle Walker.

Jesus has played wide for City previously, memorably scoring in both legs of the Champions League last-16 tie against Real Madrid two seasons back, but almost always from the left, cutting onto his right foot. For Brazil, though, he is regularly deployed on the right and Guardiola revealed that, after years not quite convincing as a centre-forward, Jesus has told him he likes to play wide.

“Some players when they get the ball in more wide positions, their body shape is more open and they have more time to make the right decision,” Guardiola explained. “When you play central it is more difficult to get good balls playing so, so central. Gabriel is a little bit better getting balls wider.”

With Jesus wide, Ferran Torres started centrally. Like Jesus, he did not score but was unlucky to see a exquisite finish ruled out for a soft foul by Bernardo Silva in the build-up. Guardiola gave one of his most animated and enthusiastic post-match interviews following Torres’s hat-trick at St James’ Park in May, delighting in the youngster’s finishing instincts, and was impressed once more against Norwich.

“Ferran has a big sense for the goal, I would say a little higher than Gabriel when in central position,” he said. The movements are more to the goal, Gabriel comes more to associate and drop a little bit. Ferran makes movements more to the goal and with our lack of goals lately, we need a guy making movements there.”

Liam Delap may have a part to play too. Guardiola confirmed on Saturday that the 18-year-old striker, son of Rory, will stay at City and train with the first team this season whatever else happens in the final days of the summer window and despite him maybe being “the most requested player we have had since we arrived” after loan interest from Stoke City and elsewhere. “For the club, for me, he’s so important for the future.”

Add a talent like Delap to Jesus, Torres and Grealish, then Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez who both scored off the substitutes’ bench, plus the injured pair of Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne. It is a fearsome set of players to choose a three-man attack from, as Guardiola well knows. “The group of people are fantastic, the players have incredible quality, so I cannot complain,” he said, reiterating that if nothing happens, he is happy to proceed with what he has.

Make no mistake, Guardiola wants Kane. There was a little reminder of that when asked directly whether City need a striker. The club, he said, has an “obligation” and a “duty to look forward, to get better, to feel we can still be there with a tough Premier League”. Signing Kane would tick all of those boxes. He would improve City and, despite Chelsea’s ominous improvement, make them undisputed title favourites. But in case no deal can be done, Saturday showed a contingency plan is in place.