"Tottenham were clear that it was not going to happen" - Pep Guardiola reveals the number of times Manchester City bid for Harry Kane
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed Tottenham rejected as many as four attempts from the Cityzens to sign Harry Kane last summer. The Spaniard has also admitted that he feared missing out on the England skipper could hurt his team's chances.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy looked extremely resilient in keeping Kane despite four approaches from the Premier League champions. The much-discussed transfer saga eventually came to a close as the Cityzens refused to meet Spurs' £150 million valuation of the 28-year-old.
"Now you can say, 'Harry Kane didn’t come and everything is going well' but at the time I didn’t know it," said Guardiola, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
"We tried but Tottenham were clear that it was not going to happen. When that happens two, three, four times, it’s over."
Pep Guardiola on Harry Kane deal collapsed last summer: “We tried to sign a striker - but it was far away from being done because Tottenham were clear it was not going to happen”. 🏴 #MCFC
Harry Kane will decide on his contract situation in the coming months, not now. #THFC https://t.co/4PrPkv3Qqy
Guardiola claimed that he had his worries about not being able to replace Sergio Aguero, but he never had any complaints with the Manchester City management.
"After that we saw the squad and we were not sure. We then lost at Spurs and against Leicester in the Community Shield. I never was disappointed in what the club cannot do in the transfer market. I’ve never created a fire here. When we have some talks and we cannot agree, we do it internally," the 51-year-old added.
Manchester City have been doing pretty well despite missing out on their primary target for the summer. At the moment, they hold a nine-point lead at the top in the Premier League table, having played one more game than second-placed Liverpool.
Kane, on the contrary, has struggled this campaign, having scored just five times in 21 Premier League outings.
Who could lead the line for Manchester City in years to come?
Manchester City managed to sign a new number nine in January in the form of Argentine international Julian Alvarez.
The 22-year-old was snapped up for a fee of around £14 million from River Plate and immediately loaned back to the Argentine side.
Hat-trick for future Manchester City player Julian Alvarez 🔥 https://t.co/Q3jUPT4KT4
The six-cap Argentine international has been making the headlines in his homeland and Guardiola sees a bit of Jamie Vardy in the youngster as per the Daily Mail.
We have to wait and see whether Alvarez gets his chance for the Cityzens next season or if the club chooses to spend big on Erling Haaland.