Guardiola downplays Manchester City's chances of acquiring a replacement for Sergio Aguero, claiming that high transfer fees make such a move "impossible."
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Pep Guardiola believes it is “impossible” to sign a replacement striker for Sergio Aguero this summer due to the huge prices being quoted by clubs. It is reported that the Blues of Manchester are looking at a number of strikers including Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane. However, Spurs are said to be reluctant to sell their star player and would reportedly demand a huge fee if at all the deal goes through. In a recent interview, Guardiola admitted that he may have to make do with what he already has at his disposal for the next season.
“At the prices (quoted) we are not going to buy any strikers. It is impossible, we cannot afford it,” Guardiola told Catalan network TV3. “All clubs are struggling financially, we are not an exception. We have Gabriel (Jesus) and Ferran (Torres) who have been incredible in this position.
“We have young players in the academy and we play many times with a false nine. There is more of a chance we aren’t going to buy a striker for next season. We’ll do whatever we can do in the transfer window and if we can’t, we’ll still have the squad that has won the league three times in four years and reached the Champions League final.”
England captain, Kane, is fully focused on the Euros currently and a decision on his club future most likely might happen only after the completion of the tournament.
Tottenham Hotspur’s new managing director of football Fabio Paratici has stated his intentions to keep Harry Kane at the club. Juventus’ former transfer chief, Paratici, has gone on to praise Kane, calling him “one of the best strikers in the world”.
Paratici told Sky in Italy, “Keeping him is not just my goal, it’s our goal as a club. I can’t wait to watch him play live, I’ve been really lucky in the past years because I’ve watched a lot of top players and strikers, like Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez, Alvaro Morata, Gonzalo Higuain, and many more which now I forgot about.
“Right now, he’s one of the best strikers in the world. He’s a complete player, really special. His physique is that of a real number nine, a true poacher, but he also has an incredibly refined technique.
“He is able to shoot with both feet and also provides many assists – very few people notice this, because he scores so many goals. He’s a team player, but he’s a finisher at the same time, so really I believe he is among the top three in the world.”
Paratici, however, stated that he has not been able to speak with Kane as the forward is currently busy with his national team at Euro 2020. “I haven’t heard from him yet because I don’t want to bother the players who are busy at the Euros, it doesn’t seem fair to me. They’re focused on their own goals with their national teams,” he added.
