Pep Guardiola emphasises importance of Gabriel Jesus amid Harry Kane speculation

Pep Guardiola has emphasised the importance of Gabriel Jesus to his Manchester City side as Harry Kane speculation continues to dominate the Premier League build-up.

City have been heavily linked with a move for Tottenham and England captain Kane throughout the summer and manager Guardiola last week confirmed the club’s interest.

The champions are seeking a replacement striker for the prolific Sergio Aguero, who left the Etihad Stadium at the end of last season.

“Gabriel is an incredibly important player for us,” said City manager Guardiola, whose side interestingly begin their title defence at Spurs on Sunday.

“Always his mind was in the right place and he can play as a striker or wider, in more lateral positions.

“He is an exceptional player, there is no doubt about that. He has had an incredible key role in these many years of success we’ve had, every season.”

His principal role of centre forward, however, is not always one Guardiola chooses to deploy. In the knockout games in last season’s run to the Champions League final, for instance, the Spaniard opted to play with a ‘false nine’ and the system mostly worked well.

Yet he insists a striker will always have a part to play.

Guardiola said: “We played with recognised strikers with Sergio Aguero and Gabriel (last season).

“He was there, a proper striker – and Gabriel is a proper striker. Sometimes we play with a different approach but the intention is the same, to try to control the game and score goals as much as possible with or without a striker.

“It is what has happened since I arrived and we will continue this way.”