Man City prepared to wait until next summer in Harry Kane pursuit
By Tom Gott
Manchester City will refuse to pay over the odds to sign Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane this summer and are willing to wait 12 months if a deal can't be done soon.
Spurs have lodged a bid of £100m plus at least one player for Kane, who has repeatedly voiced his desire to leave Spurs this summer, but their proposal is expected to be knocked back by chairman Daniel Levy, who has made it clear he does not intend to sell Kane.
Levy's logic stems from the fact that Kane still has three years remaining on his contract, so there is no pressure on Spurs to sell. He will still be worth his full value next summer, so the chairman is ready to block an exit in the hope that he can convince Kane to stay over the next 12 months - a technique he tried and failed with over this past season.
If Levy does not come down from his £150m price tag, City are prepared to walk away - with ESPN saying Pep Guardiola is happy to wait another season before launching a new bid for a striker.
Kane is expected to be towards the top of their wish list in 2022, when there is hope that Levy would be a little more reasonable as the England captain's market value would start to depreciate as he neared the end of his contract.
However, Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland would also be under consideration if he is still at the German side. He is believed to have a release clause of around £65m in his contract which kicks in next summer, but City will be joined by almost every team on the planet in pursuit of Haaland.
For that reason, Kane would remain on the radar, and City would keep room for the England man in their squad by declining to pursue an alternative this summer.
The Premier League champions are thought to be confident that their current squad can survive without replacing Sergio Aguero, who only started seven games last season because of his injury struggles.
Gabriel Jesus is the only recognised striker in the squad, while winger Ferran Torres remains a versatile backup, and Guardiola has never been afraid to use a handful of other players as false nines when needed.
Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling all spent time in the role last season, and Guardiola is seemingly confident that they could do so again this year if needed.