Manchester City 'failed with late move for Ansu Fati'

The Premier League champions had hoped to bring in Harry Kane, only for Tottenham Hotspur to refuse to sell the England international for anything less than their valuation.

Attention quickly moved to Cristiano Ronaldo, who appeared to be on the way to the Etihad Stadium before Manchester United stepped in with an approach of their own.

According to reports in Spain, failing to land either of those two players led to Guardiola making an effort to sign Barca youngster Fati.

Despite the 18-year-old spending a prolonged period on the sidelines with a knee injury, Guardiola is said to have asked agent Jorge Mendes whether it was possible to acquire the signature of the teenager.

However, the report adds that Fati and Mendes wasted little time in rejecting the chance to leave Camp Nou.