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Sergio Aguero has been the heart of the Manchester City side alongside David Silva and Vincent Kompany for quite some time now. With Kompany having already left the club and Silva announcing his departure at the end of the season, Aguero too will have to hang up his City jersey and move on sometime in the near future.
The forward is 31 years old now, and has been at the peak of his career for the past 3 seasons. But age will get to him soon, and soon the goals tally will drop resulting in City finding a replacement for the Argentine.
It will probably be one of the toughest tasks to replace Aguero who has netted 170 times in the Premier League for City along with 51 assists to his name. In addition to his astonishing Premier League record, he has also scored 67 goals in the Champions League.
As a matter of fact, Manchester City was not the club where he tasted success for the first time. Aguero has also scored 100 goals and set up 46 assists in his tenure with Atletico Madrid where he won Europa League and UEFA Super Cup. He joined City in 2011.
As the striker almost hits the age beyond his peak, there is no doubt Manchester City will soon be planning to bring in some probable replacement who can be groomed under the Argentine's guidance until his departure.
Today we take a look at the top 3 strikers in the world right now, who are capable of filling his shoes in the blue half of Manchester.
#3 Joao Felix
First up on our list is the striker who has been deemed to be the next Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal - Joao Felix.
The 19 year old striker recently completed his move from Benfica to Atletico Madrid in a whopping €126 million deal which came in the backdrop of Antoine Griezmann leaving the Spanish capital to join FC Barcelona.
In such a young age, Felix has already 35 goals in his career of 90 club matches, and has set up 18 assists in the process. He debuted for the Portuguese national team on 5th June 2019 but failed to get on the score-sheet. Felix has 4 goals in 10 matches for the Portuguese U21 side.
Atletico paying such a huge fee for a 19 year old and handing him the coveted number 7 shirt only signifies the potential Joao Felix and it might be on show in the La Liga this season as he is a regular starter for the Atletico squad.
The Portuguese striker might just be a great signing in a couple of years if City are to break their bank and chase him as a replacement for Aguero.
Also, Premier League has got a history of strikers arriving from Atletico Madrid and lighting up the league with their goals week in week out - Fernando Torres, Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa to name a few.
Joao Felix will be a proper switch for Aguero, but City will have to spend an entire summer or winter transfer budget to get their man in a couple of seasons.
#2 Mauro Icardi
Inter Milan has been facing some rough phase for the latter half of the past decade as club legends' and long time players' departure left the club in a total overhaul which still seems to be in an beta stage.
In this phase, the one player which has dragged the squad to relevance and saved them a few blushes has been none other than Mauro Icardi.
The 26 year old has been Serie A's most successful striker for the past few seasons, having scored 135 goals and provided 32 assists in the Italian first tier. That is one of the best goal tallies that Italian football has seen in quite some time now.
In an unfortunate turn of events, Icardi had a fallout with the Inter management in the later half of last season. With new manager Antonio Conte coming in and declaring that he does not want the Argentine in the team, the forward had no choice but to join Paris Saint-Germain in a season-long loan deal.
Though Paris Saint-Germain do have a buy option in the loan deal, but the volatile nature of football business nowadays does not guarantee that the French club will cash in.
Paris Saint-Germain's loss might just become Manchester City's gain, as they could swoop up the unsettled star in the next couple of seasons. Even after twoseasons, Icardi will just be 28, which means that he will still have minimum 4 years of peak period which strikers normally enjoy.
If Mauro Icardi could score more than 120 goals in an Inter squad which has far from the best midfield in Europe, the Argentinian international would take the Premier League by storm considering City's play-makers.
#1 Kylian Mbappe
2018 was the year for 20-year-old Kylian Mbappe who broke a load of records at a mere age of 19 at the biggest stage of all - FIFA World Cup 2018.
The Paris Saint-Germain striker, who moved to the French capital in a move from AS Monaco his boyhood club, which saw him gain popularity in the books of Europe's top clubs. This was courtesy Mbappe's performances in the Champions League against Manchester City and Juventus.
In his short senior career, the French International has 89 goals and 50 assists which prove his calibre and his eye for goals.
Real Madrid have been vocal about their interest in Mbappe but their negotiations seemed to have slowed down with the Galacticos signing Luka Jovic who is potentially another upcoming striker who has proven his finesse in the Bundesliga.
If Jovic happens to get 20-odd goals for Madrid for a season or two, their interest in Mbappe might start to fade away resulting in other clubs becoming interested in the star.
Mbappe's €200 million value might not be matched by, possibly, even some top European clubs and the race might just be between the rich horses - FC Barcelona, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Juventus.
If there is anyone who could most comfortably replace Sergio Aguero in the City squad, it is definitely Kylian Mbappe. Aguero has promised 20-plus goal tallies every season for more than seven seasons now, and if it is to be matched, Mbappe is the striker City need.
Mbappe and Aguero have similar personalities on the pitch, with their explosive goal-scoring abilities and being an all round forward for their team.
If City manage to clinch Mbappe in the near future, Premier League might just become a single-team affair considering the way City's squad has developed in the past few years, and with the current squad being quite young.
Whoever City closes in on, Aguero is definitely going to leave some huge boots to fill at Etihad.
