'Man City should go all out for Haaland!' - Guardiola must sign Aguero replacement to compete for title, says Sinclair

Manchester City "should go all out" for Erling Haaland in the transfer market, according to Trevor Sinclair, who says Pep Guardiola must sign a replacement for Sergio Aguero for his team to compete for the title again. 

City have slipped to sixth in the Premier League standings after their first 12 fixtures of the 2020-21 campaign, having recorded only five wins alongside five draws and two defeats.

Guardiola's men suffered another setback when they were held to a 1-1 draw by 19th placed West Brom at Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night, with a lack of cutting edge in the final third undermining their slick build-up play.

The Blues have the worst attacking record in the top eight at the moment with only 18 goals scored, and Gabriel Jesus has struggled to fill the void up front left by Aguero, who has only been available for three Premier League games so far this term.

Sinclair doesn't feel his old club can challenge for the top-flight trophy again unless Guardiola brings in a long-term successor for Aguero, with Borussia Dortmund's Haaland considered to be the ideal target.

The former City winger thinks a man who has scored 33 goals in 32 Bundesliga matches since moving to Westfalenstadion from Red Bull Salzburg in January can give the Blues the boost they desperately need in the second half of the season.

“When you’ve got a top striker like Aguero and he’s fit and he’s playing, you’re going to score goals, but he’s missed 33 games in the last two seasons," Sinclair told talkSPORT.

“I think Man City and the fans need to get used to seeing Aguero not playing. With that said, is Gabriel Jesus the right man for the job? For me, he’s not scoring enough goals. I like him, I think his work-rate is superb, but he doesn't score enough goals.

“They’ve replaced other players, Torres for Sane is a good like-for-like.

“But when you look at what’s happening with the striker situation, they’ve got two strikers.

“Going off Aguero’s stats and the games he misses, I think you definitely need to buy a new striker.

“For me, I would go all out for Erling Haaland at Dortmund, he’s got everything and would suit the philosophy at Man City. He would do the business.

“If they had Haaland they’d definitely be in this title race.

“I don't think they can compete with the squad they’ve got, with their striking options at the moment.”