Pep Guardiola has confirmed Manchester City want to sign Harry Kane but says a deal could be impossible if Tottenham are unwilling to negotiate.
On Thursday, City confirmed the £100 million signing of Jack Grealish from Aston Villa, a new British record transfer fee.
Despite spending such a huge amount of money on one England international, it seems the Premier League champions could yet spend bigger on another.
Asked about rumours linking Kane with a move to the Etihad amid the striker’s continued absence from Spurs training, Guardiola confirmed City’s interest.
“We are interested in him but if Spurs don’t want to negotiate then there is nothing more to say,” the Spaniard said (via BBC Sport).
“If they want to, we will try, that is all.
“He’s a player for Tottenham and if they don’t want to negotiate then it’s finished. If they are open to negotiation, Manchester City and all the clubs in the world want to try to sign him.”
He went on to explain how a deal for Kane would be different to Grealish because the former Villa captain had a release clause in his contract – and Kane doesn’t.
Guardiola said: “It depends on Tottenham. Jack had a release clause so that was different.”
Effectively, City were able to sign Grealish with ease because they were not required to negotiate a price with Villa due to the release clause.
The situation with Kane is quite different, with Tottenham able to hold out for a mammoth fee for their talisman.
Alternatively the Londoners could simply refuse to negotiate with City, and so Kane will be forced to stick around until January at least.
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