Wherever Aguero Goes, Transfer Market Moves Will Be Significant

Sergio Aguero (Instagram @kunaguero)

JAKARTA - With 257 goals scored in 384 appearances so far, Sergio Aguero will leave Manchester City as the club's top scorer.

Although City are leading the Premier League title race this season without the Argentine forward's dominant involvement, Guardiola is likely to jump into the transfer market to find a replacement.

And of course, it's not easy. As Football365 notes, the former Atletico Madrid striker is the foreign player who has scored the highest goal in the Premier League (181). He scores a goal every 108 minutes on average and has even scored a goal every 91 minutes in 2019/20.

Kun - as he is called - scored more than 20 goals in six of his 10 seasons at City. Only lost to Alan Shearer who did it seven times. Plus, Diego Maradona's former son-in-law has scored 13 hat-tricks for his club.

He won't be easy to replace, but City will have to try. Whoever they choose next, there will be an indirect effect on the European transfer market.

Haaland option

The obvious candidate is Erling Haaland. The Norwegian has been an unstoppable force since appearing on the European scene with RB Salzburg. His goals have not stopped since he joined Borussia Dortmund in the middle of the 2019/20 season.

With a tag of 180 million euros on his head, Haaland's arrival at the Etihad Stadium will likely have a smaller domino effect like everyone else. The reason is, Dortmund tends to avoid signing big names from established Champions League clubs.

Premier League domino effect

Sky Sports said Danny Ings and Harry Kane could be other options. They report, the former Liverpool striker, Ings, is considered very good at City.

Kane's name is probably the most interesting to come up with. The Tottenham captain has established himself at one of the great English clubs and has featured in the Champions League. At the international level, he also finished as the top scorer at the 2018 World Cup.

His contract at Spurs runs until 2024. However, Kane refused to commit to the club and said that "top players want to win big trophies,". That's what he hasn't got in North London.

Lukaku and Aguero exchange?

Outside England, Romelu Lukaku has taken Serie A by storm since joining Inter from Manchester United. However, Inter was touted as one of Aguero's potential goals so that the two players could swap places.

Lukaku is enjoying a career under Antonio Conte, and he is unlikely to want to leave Milan. So far, the Belgian player has scored 42 goals in 56 Serie A matches.

Lukaku's Inter team-mate Lautaro Martinez could be a more likely option for City. However, this Argentine striker has caught Barcelona's attention for a long time.

What does this mean for Messi?

The most obvious name to mention from Aguero's move plan is Lionel Messi. La Pulga's contract at Barcelona expires this summer and there is no clue where his future lies.

Messi has indeed looked happier and calmer since Joan Laporta returned to office. However, nothing is certain about what will happen this summer.

According to MARCA, Messi joining City could pave the way for Aguero to land at the Camp Nou. Even though in fact, Messi's survival at the Camp Nou could be a factor that could attract Aguero to Catalan so that the two Argentines work together.

Wherever Aguero goes, there are likely to be significant moves in the transfer market. Unless Guardiola maintains his current squad, using Gabriel Jesus or even Kevin de Bruyne as a substitute for Aguero.