Guardiola speaks out on Man City’s Kane pursuit after Tottenham defeat

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was drawn on his side’s efforts to lure Harry Kane to the club last summer, on the back of the Sky Blues’ defeat to Tottenham on Saturday.

Hitman Kane, of course, has taken his place front and centre in the English football headlines this evening.

This comes owing to a wonderful individual display, on his way to a brace during a Premier League showdown between Tottenham and champions Man City.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 19: Harry Kane celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 2-3 during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur at Etihad Stadium on February 19, 2022 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)

On the back of a trio of successive league defeats, Antonio Conte’s troops made the daunting trip to the Etihad, aware that a shock 3-point haul would go a long away towards reigniting the club’s pursuit of Champions League football for next season.

And, when all was said and done in Manchester, upset the odds is precisely what Spurs managed.

An early opener from Dejan Kuluesevski was added to by Kane’s first of the night on the hour mark, before a 95th-minute header on the part of the English international guided the Lilywhites to the right side of a 3-2 scoreline, and up to 7th in the Premier League table.

‘The past’

Speaking to the media on the back of the full-time whistle on Saturday, it therefore came as little surprise when the name of Tottenham’s main man was put to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.

This comes after the Premier League champions tried and failed to lure the English international to the Etihad last summer, in a bid to arrest their post-Sergio Aguero woes at centre-forward.

Those in a position of power in north London, though, ultimately refused to budge, with Kane, in turn, having stayed put at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

And Guardiola was keen to suggest post-match that, despite Spurs’ talisman showcasing his undisputed ‘quality’ once again on Saturday, in fact, Kane was ‘never an option’ for his side:

Pep on Kane. “Never was an option [for us]. Forget, it’s the past…He showed his quality. All UK knows it.”

— Dan Kilpatrick (@Dan_KP) February 19, 2022

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