Guardiola 'more than optimistic' despite Man City's poor start to Premier League season

After a faltering start to the 2021-22 season, Manchester City will be looking to do better against newly-promoted Norwich City. City lost their Community Shield match to Leicester City and then lost their opening Premier League game to Tottenham Hotspurs. However, Pep Guardiola seems unfazed by their poor start to the season saying that he is "more than optimistic".

According to City's website, the 50-year-old said that he would have preferred to play better and won the game against Spurs, adding it's never an easy win against them. “I would have preferred to have played better and won the game last Sunday,(But) it’s never easy against Spurs. What happened last season doesn't mean it will happen again."

"We have to prepare game by game. The rest is hypothetical. I am not a guy to venture what is going to happen this season. As for my squad, I don’t have any doubts. What they have done so far, for many, many years, the main group are the same. I know their mentality, I know they want to do it, but football is unpredictable. Anything can happen. Bad periods can happen again but I am more than optimistic."

Pep then spoke about Grealish saying that he needs time to settle in with the squad and that the whole team will help. “Everyone needs time, of course for Jack, a bit more because he is new,” Guardiola added. "The team is going to help Jack be who he is and he will help us be the team we want to be. All together. Alone, we cannot do it."

Harry Kane transfer saga

The Harry Kane Man City transfer saga continued as Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy reportedly refuses to answer Manchester City's calls after rejecting a £125 million transfer bid for the English international. Manchester City improved their transfer bid after seeing a £100d million bid rejected earlier in the transfer window. The English striker has made his intentions clear of moving away from his boyhood club, and reports suggest he also has a gentleman's agreement with Levy for allowing him to depart.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Harry Kane had a longstanding gentleman's agreement with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy to allow him to leave the club this summer. The report claimed that Kane and Levy met at the end of the 2019/20 season, where the Spurs chairman promised the English international he could leave if Tottenham underachieved in the next campaign. The London outfit finished the 2020/21 Premier League campaign in seventh place and failed to win any trophy in the season.

Even though Kane would hope he can leave Tottenham on good terms this summer, such a situation seems unlikely. This is because Levy is reportedly refusing to communicate with Manchester City after rejecting a £125 million bid earlier. Reports suggest that the Tottenham chief values Kane at a staggering price of £150 million and is unwilling to compromise on this amount. Hence, it seems that City will need to increase their bid if they want to sign England's most prized asset.

Image Credits: @ManCity - Twitter