Former Man City star urges club to sign Harry Kane over Erling Haaland

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Nigel de Jong believes Manchester City should sign Harry Kane over Erling Haaland.

In the 2020/21 season, Man City have become a formidable force again despite a slow start, and are in pole position to reclaim the Premier League title from Liverpool as they are currently 12 points clear at the top of the table ahead of nearest rivals Manchester United.

For the majority of the season, though, their excellence has actually came without a centre-forward.

Sergio Aguero has had another season ravaged by injuries and coronavirus isolations, while Gabriel Jesus has had periods out of the team too due to injury.

A selection of players have featured in the central forward role including Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, Raheem Sterling, and Ferran Torres to varying degrees of success.

With Aguero’s contract also up at the end of the current campaign, there is a general feeling that Man City will be in the market for a new starting striker this summer, and so have been linked with big money moves for some of Europe’s best.

Kane continues to excel for Tottenham, but is yet to win a major trophy in his career and so could be eager to move on to pastures new, while Haaland has taken European football by storm over the past 18 months to emerge as one of the most devastating forwards in the game.

Haaland’s father, Alf-Inge Haaland, also played for Man City in the Premier League.

Kane or Haaland?

If given the direct choice between the pair, De Jong would opt for Kane as he has more Premier League experience.

“It is a difficult one for me, because of course, Harry Kane knows the Premier League, he has been here playing for so many years and he knows the Premier League inside out,” the Premier League winner said on beIN Sports.

“So, would you go for an experienced player who knows the league, who can fit in that culture of the English Premier League or you go for an inexperienced player such as Haaland?

“For me I would go for Harry Kane at this stage.”

In the 2020/21 season, Kane has 22 goals and 14 assists in all competitions for Spurs, while Haaland as 27 goals and seven assists for Dortmund.