Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admits they made FOUR attempts to land Tottenham striker Harry Kane last summer.
The two teams meet on Saturday night.
Guardiola said: “We tried but it was far away from being done because Tottenham were clear this is not going to happen.
And when that happens two, three, four times, it's over."
Guardiola still wants a striker in the summer — but 28-year-old Kane is now likely to be down the pecking order.
The Spaniard feared the saga would derail their title defence when Spurs stood firm on a £160million valuation.
City were never going to pay that and the 51-year-old comes up against the striker he wanted when the teams go head-to-head this evening.
But with 98 goals this term, they have not missed Kane.
Guardiola said: “Now you can say, 'Harry Kane didn't come and everything is going well' but at the time I didn't know it.
"We lost to Spurs on opening day and Leicester in the Community Shield.
“And I don't know what will happen in the next few weeks."
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