We tried signing Harry Kane four times but Tottenham were clear it was going to happen, admits Pep Guardiola

Harry Kane has cemented his status as one of the finest strikers of his generation with his prolificacy and all-round play during his time in the Premier League with Tottenham.

The English striker has made 369 appearances for the North London club while scoring 236 goals and registering 52 assists across all competitions. The Three Lions Skipper also led his side to a first major tournament final since 1966 at Euro 2020 where they narrowly missed out on national glory in the finals against Italy through penalties.

It was widely speculated that Kane was interested in moving to greener pastures as he looked to achieve major silverware before the end of his playing career and City were the major contender in a bid to recruit a world-class striker.

Guardiola has revealed the finer details of a potential deal that didn’t come to fruition while also expressing concern for his side’s quality at the beginning of the season.

"Now you can say, 'Harry Kane didn’t come and everything is going well' but at the time I didn’t know it We tried but Tottenham were clear that it was not going to happen. When that happens two, three, four times, it’s over. After that, we saw the squad and we were not sure. We then lost at Spurs and against Leicester in the Community Shield,” Guardiola told reporters ahead of City’s game against Spurs on Saturday.

"I never was disappointed in what the club cannot do in the transfer market. I’ve never created a fire here. When we have some talks and we cannot agree, we do it internally," he added.