Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City staff are increasingly resigned to having only Gabriel Jesus at striker as hopes of signing Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur fade, per ESPN.
Citizens chiefs are still optimistic that the England captain will move to the Etihad Stadium this summer. The reigning Premier League champions are pushing Spurs to sell the forward before August 31, and are preparing an offer worth an initial £120m plus future bonuses.
Tottenham Chairman Daniel Levy is giving little encouragement that he will come down from his £150m valuation, however. Manchester City also still need to offload some of their unwanted players to afford another British transfer record fee.
It is highly likely that Manchester City’s pursuit of Tottenham striker Kane will stretch until Deadline Day later this month. The Etihad Stadium leadership are also keen for Spurs to make progress in their own striker pursuits to lessen the potential blow of losing Kane.
But despite the Citizens hierarchy feeling optimistic over their chances, Guardiola and his coaching staff are significantly less hopeful. Instead, they are braced to spend, at least the first half, of the season with Jesus as their only recognised senior option. The Spaniard could also call on U23s stars Liam Delap or Pablo Moreno to offer depth in the position.
Moreno spent last season on loan at Girona after joining from Juventus’ academy in July. He scored twice in 29 games for the Spanish second-tier side, while Delap netted 24 in 20 PL2 fixtures. The 18-year-old also scored once in three first-team outings, starting once.
Jesus, meanwhile, played 20 minutes of Manchester City’s opening day loss at Tottenham Hotspur and failed to score. The £27m attacker additionally only scored nine times in 29 appearances last season.
Kane ready to stay at Tottenham despite Manchester City pursuit
Manchester City boss Guardiola is not the only significant player growing resigned to Kane staying at Tottenham this summer, too. The Times report the 28-year-old is also now close to accepting Levy will not allow him to leave north London.
Levy believes Manchester City have left it too late in the window to make any meaningful efforts to strike a deal for last season’s Golden Boot and Premier League playmaker of the year award winner. Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo is also speaking as if Kane is staying.
Nuno told Sky Sports: “Harry is one of the best players in the world. We are very lucky to have him. Harry worked this morning, is preparing and when he is ready, he will join the group and help the team.”
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