Who will challenge Manchester City for the premiership?

Reigning champions City have a chokehold on domestic competitions but like with Paris St-Germain and Messi, they think Kane could help them overcome the Champions League hoodoo.

His was the one billed to be the head turner but then Lionel Messi moved. And since Harry Kane hasn’t, he should feel at home when Manchester City come calling on Sunday, right? Well, that’s where it gets tricky because Kane may well call Manchester home by the end of this month.

Manchester City players (Twitter/Champions League)

As to what that would make City is a prospect intimidating and exhilarating in equal measure. Intimidating for teams in Europe and in the Premier League which opened a new season with a sense of the old --- the crowds and Virgil van Dijk are back, so is Patrick Vieira (as Crystal Palace manager) and big money transfers have made a mockery of the market being deflated by Covid-19 --- and exhilarating for neutrals.

“Harry Kane is an exceptional, extraordinary striker, of course we are interested – but he is a Tottenham (Hotspur) player,” City coach Pep Guardiola has said. City finished 12 points and 10 goals above the rest by playing with a False Nine for most of the second half of the season; they have Ferran Torres and Gabriel Jesus and have just added Jack Grealish to an overflowing bouquet of attacking midfielders. But since they are financially able, why pass up the chance to sign Kane?

Reigning champions City have a chokehold on domestic competitions but like with Paris St-Germain and Messi, they think Kane could help them overcome the Champions League hoodoo. Mason Mount and Kai Havertz combined to deny them that last season and having signed Romelu Lukaku, Chelsea are certainly not giving up the fight this time around.

Thomas Tuchel has shown that the Champions League title is the beginning of what could be a great story for the club that has shown a remarkable knack for changing coaches at the right time. Tuchel has tightened Chelsea defensively (19 clean sheets in 30 games) and may yet get centre-back Jules Kounde. He moved them from ninth to fourth in the league and also won the Super Cup by pulling out goalie Kepa Arrizabalaga from relative obscurity. Returning to Chelsea, Lukaku is expected to fill up an Olivier Giroud-sized hole and one often created by Timo Werner straying off-side (at 27 times in the Premier League last term, he was in joint-fourth position). After all, it is difficult to make a realistic push for the league with central midfielder Jorginho as the team’s highest goalscorer with seven goals.

With Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer given a new deal, the red side of Manchester hopes to push for a first league since Alex Ferguson retired after winning in 2012-13. Sancho’s pace, dribbling qualities and accuracy of delivery give United an option they didn’t have last season. And Varane is a World Cup winning central defender who should provide stability and swiftness to the backline. Gary Neville, the club’s former captain turned pundit, said Varane is “the last piece in the jigsaw.”

At a time when Barcelona and Inter Milan have been unable to hold players, Premier League teams have not baulked at chasing transfer targets and often getting them. In their bid to avoid another falter at the finish, Leicester City have made smart purchases and --- more importantly --- held on to key midfielders Wilfred Ndidi and Youri Tielemans. And Aston Villa will try to cope without Grealish through the addition of winger Emiliano Buendia.

The team that hasn’t done that is Liverpool. Barring 36 million pounds on Ibrahima Konate, that is. But then, given the injuries to centre-backs and how it affected the team, adding one young defender is not profligate but pragmatic. With Van Dijk armed with a new long-term deal, Joel Matip and Joe Gomes injury-free and Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams too available, Liverpool hope they will not have to push midfielders into defence again.

By extension that explains why manager Juergen Klopp can afford to not replace Georginio Wijnaldum. Liverpool rescued last season winning 26 points from 10 games and with the defence sorted, this season could be defined by whether Klopp can get one more high octane season from frontliners Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane. Just one of the many things to look forward to in a league that had 119 players in the Euro 2020, the most.