LAST UPDATE | 6 Aug 2021
PEP GUARDIOLA HAS confirmed Manchester City’s interest in Harry Kane but accepts Tottenham may not want to sell the England captain.
Kane is understood to want to leave Spurs and did not report back for pre-season training this week. This evening the player released a statement outlining he “would never refuse to train.”
Premier League champions City have been heavily linked with the striker throughout the summer, but Spurs are thought to be reluctant to sell a player they reportedly value at £160million.
City – who this week signed Jack Grealish for a British record fee – have said they would never pay that figure for Kane and Guardiola admits a deal will be difficult to conclude.
— Harry Kane (@HKane) August 6, 2021
The City manager said: “He is a player for Tottenham Hotspur. If Tottenham don’t want to negotiate, it is finished.
“If they are open to negotiate, it is not only Man City but many clubs in the world would want to try to sign him. We are not an exception.
“But it depends on Tottenham. It is different from Jack, Jack had a release clause.
“Harry Kane is an exceptional, extraordinary striker. There are no doubts about that. Of course we are very interested.
“But he is a Tottenham player. If they don’t want to negotiate there is nothing more to say. If they want it, we will try.”
And this evening the England and Spurs captain broke his silence regarding his absence from training this week, releasing a statement on his social media accounts.
“While I won’t go into the specifics of the situation, I want to clarify that I would never, and have never, refused to train. I will be returning to the club tomorrow, as planned.”
Updated at 5.44pm to include Harry Kane statement.
