Carragher believes Man City should try sign Mbappe as "plan B" to Harry Kane

Jamie Carragher has called for Manchester City to pursue a move for Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe as an alternative to Harry Kane.

England captain Kane has been the Premier League champions' number one target this summer since he revealed his desire to leave Tottenham Hotspur in search of silverware at the end of last season.

Pep Guardiola is keen to bring in a new striker after the departure of Sergio Aguero after 10 years in Manchester but the club have so far been unable to agree a fee with Spurs.

Carragher believes that City would be better served turning their attention to the French capital and a move for Mbappe.

Writing in his column in the Telegraph, Carragher said "City must have considered a Plan B in the event of Spurs refusing to sell Kane. There would be more value in trying to sign Kylian Mbappe for in excess of £100million a year before his contract expires at PSG, for example."

Spurs are refusing to budge on their £150-160million valuation of Kane, with City having a £100million bid rejected earlier this summer.

City are understood to be preparing a second bid for the England forward worth around £120million but have so far yet to make a concrete proposal.

In contrast, Mbappe's contract expires next summer so could be available for below his market value this summer or on a free in 2022.

"City obviously had the funds to buy Kane for £150million at the start of the summer but decided to match the £100million clause for Jack Grealish," continues Carragher.

"At the moment, it looks like they got their priorities wrong. Grealish is a fine player. He will do well at City. I understand why he wanted to move. What I cannot get my head around is why City did not attend to their more pressing needs first."

City completed the British record signing of Grealish from Aston Villa earlier in the window and the playmaker started their Premier League loss to Spurs last weekend.

"Signing Grealish will not be the difference between City defending their title or finally winning the Champions League this season.

"Signing Kane, or a world-class striker capable of scoring between 20 or 30 goals this season, might be."

City won their fifth Premier League title and third under Guardiola last season, but were defeated by Chelsea in their first ever Champions League final.

With the departure of Aguero, a new striker has been the priority this summer and with City reportedly being Kane's preferred destination this summer he soon became the primary target.

However, Carragher cannot understand why Kane has not already been pictured as a Manchester City player.

"As the supposed number one summer target, he should already have been paraded in his City shirt. It is difficult to understand how City imagined this would play out any differently than it has over the past two months.

"From the moment it became clear Kane would push for a transfer, and City were preparing their move, everyone in football foresaw the current state of affairs.

"Anything less than £150million for the England captain is going to be met with an instant rebuke," concluded Carragher.

Kane has yet to feature for Spurs so far this season having returned late from his summer holidays and did not train with his team-mates until Tuesday.

He could play for the club on Sunday as they travel to Wolves, while City will look for their first win at home to newly promoted Norwich City.

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