Pep Guardiola only has Gabriel Jesus as a recognised centre forward in his Manchester City squad
(Picture: The FA via Getty Images)Pep Guardiola claims he is prepared to go without a striker this season, despite Manchester City targeting a British record move for Harry Kane.
The Tottenham and England captain is the Catalan’s No1 choice to fill the void left by Sergio Aguero, but City have been given little encouragement that he will be available this summer.
Guardiola made it clear this week that he wants to bring Kane to the Etihad Stadium, with Spurs believed to value him at around £150million.
But speaking after defeat to Leicester in the Community Shield on Saturday, he insisted he is willing to go into the campaign with only Gabriel Jesus as a recognised centre forward.
“It depends if it is possible,” he said. “If it is we do it, if not we go without a striker.”
On Friday, Guardiola directly addressed a potential move for Kane, who wants to leave Spurs in pursuit of silverware this summer.
“He is a Tottenham player,” he said. “If Tottenham don’t want to negotiate it is finished. If they want to negotiate, many clubs would like to sign him, we are not an exception. We are very interested in him.”
An 89th-minute penalty from former City striker Kelechi Iheanacho secured a 1-0 win for Leicester and the first silverware of the season.
Jack Grealish came on as a second-half substitute as the £100m signing made his City debut.
Guardiola added: “He was really good - aggressive, going against full-backs and every time he had the ball there were three players around him. We will know him and step by step he will find the best.”
Meanwhile, Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers confirmed that defender Wesley Fofana will be out for the rest of the year with a leg fracture.
He said: “He will play in 2022 at some time. Unfortunately the ligament damage is quite bad. He is in great spirits, he wants to stay here and be around his team-mates.
“Sometimes players want to go back to their country, but he is staying here. He has an operation on Monday and his recovery will start there.”
