Manchester City remain ‘confident’ that Tottenham forward Harry Kane will join the club this summer, according to reports. The 27-year-old is currently angling for a move away from north London, although Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is believed to be playing hardball in negotiations with the newly-crowned Premier League champions.

The 59-year-old is said to have rejected a previous bid in the region of £100million for Kane, who made his planned return to the club on Saturday.

He is currently isolating at Spurs Lodge as he nears a return to full training ahead of the new Premier League season.

Reports have suggested that Levy is unlikely to entertain any further bids for Kane that fall below the £150m mark, which could be bad news for City.

They have already splashed £100m on the marquee signing of Jack Grealish, with the former Aston Villa skipper making his debut for the club in Saturday’s Community Shield defeat to Leicester City.

Despite Levy’s firm stance against a move for Kane, it seems as though City have not been left disheartened and will not give up on their hopes of securing his signature just yet.

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Those at the Etihad Stadium still believe that Kane will eventually make the switch to Manchester ahead of this month’s transfer deadline, according to the Evening Standard.

The report claims that City have always expected talks with Levy to be relatively slow-burning as a result of the Spurs chairman’s stubborn nature.

Pep Guardiola and director of football Txiki Begiristain have reportedly ended their long-standing interest in signing Lionel Messi to maintain their pursuit of Kane, which serves as an indicator of their determination to land the forward.

City are prepared to continue pushing for the move once the new season is underway, with just over a fortnight to go until the summer window slams shut.

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The seven-time English champions are hoping that Kane’s arrival can help fill the void left by the departure of Sergio Aguero, who joined Barcelona on a free transfer back in May.

Guardiola recently underlined his desire to sign the Spurs forward with a public declaration of his interest, but suggested that a move will be very difficult to engineer unless Levy is willing to budge.

“He’s a player for Tottenham Hotspur,” the City boss told reporters when quizzed on the situation earlier this month.

“If Tottenham don’t want to negotiate, it’s finished. If they are open to negotiate, I think not just Man City, but many clubs in the world want to try to sign him.

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“We are not an exception, but it depends on Tottenham. It’s different from Jack [Grealish]. Jack had a release clause and he is different.

“Harry Kane is an exceptional, extraordinary striker, no doubts about that. Of course we are interested.

“But he is a Tottenham player and, if they don’t want to negotiate, there is nothing more to say. If they want to, we will try.”