Pep Guardiola admits Manchester City are in the market for Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane

Speaking in an interview (h/t Metro) after news broke about Lionel Messi leaving Barcelona, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola revealed his interest in signing Tottenham Hotspur striker, Harry Kane.

The City manager talked about Messi’s contribution to Barcelona in recent years – the club he managed before taking up the job at Bayern Munich and ultimately, Man City. But he was then asked about City’s interest in Kane.

The Citizens have already confirmed the £100million signing of Aston Villa superstar, Jack Grealish. Interestingly, it is the same amount that City were believed to have bid for Kane earlier this summer.

No club has infinite money, so Grealish’s transfer naturally made many fans think that it could spell the end of City’s interest in Kane. But Guardiola has fired a warning to Spurs, stating that they are waiting on the sidelines, ready to pounce, if Spurs make the 28-year-old available for sale.

Kane to City?

“It’s different from Jack. He had a release clause. Harry Kane is an exceptional, extraordinary striker – of course we are interested – but he is a Tottenham player and if they don’t want to negotiate there is nothing more to say. If they want to, we will try .”

Kane is not making things easy for Fabio Paratici and Daniel Levy. The England international refused to show up for training earlier this week after his holidays and is said to have a gentlemen’s agreement to leave the club this summer.

This would be an irritating saga for the fans to go through so close to the season. If Kane stays, the uneasy feeling of housing a disgruntled player will remain within all parties at the club.

More Tottenham Hotspur News:

• Arsenal enter the race for Tottenham target Takehiro Tomiyasu

• Transfer News: Tottenham submit first bid for Mikkel Damsgaard

• Nuno Espirito Santo provides the latest injury update on Tottenham skipper Hugo Lloris

And if he leaves so close to their Premier League opener as well as transfer deadline day, it could harm Spurs’ trophy chances in Nuno Espirito Santo’s first campaign. Let’s hope the situation resolves itself quickly so fans can turn their attention to the new season.