Grealish does not complete Man City puzzle – Kane hurdles must yet be overcome

Jack Grealish is poised to become the latest piece of a footballing jigsaw even Liberace would struggle to afford.

The arrival of 'Jack the Lad' at Manchester City will be music to the ears of Pep Guardiola as he continues his quest to make his side the most powerful and successful one on the planet.

That challenge doesn't come cheap and Grealish will cost the English champions a British record £100m.

Just take that in. £100m for someone who has won just 12 England caps and never played in the Europa League, let alone the Champions League? City's previous record signing is Ruben Dias, who cost them £63.7m from Benfica.

£100m of outlay in the wake of a crushing pandemic that has left dozens of clubs on their knees, staring into the financial abyss?

And the spending won't stop here if City chairman Khaldoon Al-Mubarak gets his way.

Al-Mubarak is still hopeful of signing Harry Kane from Tottenham as well, in a deal that would eclipse the transfer record about to be set by Grealish.

Should this happen and Kane follows his international team-mate to Manchester, then the rest of the Premier League might as well hand the league title to City now.

But City still have a huge hurdle to overcome in their bid to land Kane – and he's called Daniel Levy.

Will Harry Kane get his move to Manchester City before the transfer window shuts? Let us know in the comments section.

The Spurs chairman is as hard-nosed as they come in football – and will only agree to sell Kane on his terms, not those of City and their billionaire bankroller Sheikh Mansour.

Should a frustrated Kane fail to escape north London, then the puzzle Guardiola is indulging in will still not be complete.

The Spaniard's ultimate goal is to replace club legend Sergio Aguero, who has joined Barcelona, and even someone as talented as Grealish cannot fill the Argentine's huge boots.

So we could see the new season begin with Guardiola having more creators of goals than he can shake a stick at, but without a world-class striker to finish off the chances.

Grealish will join Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Ferran Torres and Bernardo Silva in providing Guardiola with the sort of attacking artillery never witnessed before in one single squad.

But with just Gabriel Jesus to call on as his only recognised No.9, Guardiola's own version of the Harlem Globetrotters will also look like one of the most imbalanced in history, too.

Jesus might be one of those boys from Brazil, but he's no Ronaldo. If he was, Guardiola wouldn't be looking to sign Kane in the first place.

He has the option of using Sterling or De Bruyne in the false nine position while Grealish has the gifts to slot in anywhere in an attacking front three. If history tells us anything, it's that Guardiola tends to find a way to be successful.

The Spaniard will be working on his masterplan as we speak, but whatever this proves to be, Grealish knows he now has the chance to become an integral part of it.

Leaving his boyhood club Aston Villa will be a wrench, but once Grealish starts lining up alongside the likes of De Bruyne he will quickly realise he was right to let his head rule his heart.

If he can adapt to the demands of Guardiola and thrive at the Etihad, he will have the world at his feet and the opportunity to take his career to a whole new level.

He can fulfil all his ambitions – and then some.

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