Harry Kane has confirmed he will be staying at Tottenham this summer and that he is “100% focused on helping the team achieve success” having accepted defeat in his battle to force a move to Manchester City.
Kane has been pushing for a switch to the champions for months, and had initially hope to seal the deal before the European Championship. But both player and club have made little progress, mainly due to the characteristic intransigence of Spurs’s chairman, Daniel Levy. He rejected an initial £100m bid from City and has also informed them that a £127m bid would not be enough to prise Kane away.
Kane held out hope that City would come back with an improved offer before the window shuts on Tuesday – something in the region of £150m – but the 28-year-old now accepts there is no chance of that happening and, as such, he is stuck at Spurs at least until the winter window opens at the turn of the year.
“It was incredible to see the reception from the Spurs fans on Sunday [against Wolves] and to read some of the messages of support I’ve had in the last few weeks,” Kane said in a tweet posted on his official account on Wednesday afternoon. “ I will be staying at Tottenham this summer and will be 100% focused on helping the team achieve success.”
Indeed Kane recognised he was staying at Spurs prior to their visit to Wolves, hence him being willing to be part of the matchday squad and come on as a second-half substitute. Spurs’s manager, Nuno Espírito Santo, later praised Kane for helping the team secure a 1-0 win at Molineux, and the England captain also received a warm reception from the travelling supporters, which was something of a surprise given the ill-feeling that had built up among the fans towards Kane after he had refused to report for pre-season training at the start of the month in protest at what he believed was a case of Levy reneging on a gentleman’s agreement that allowed him to leave Spurs this summer. Levy has consistently insisted that Kane, who signed a six-year deal with the club in June 2018, is not for sale.
Kane could now make his first start of the season in Thursday’s Europa Conference qualifying second-leg tie with Paços de Ferreira. Spurs are 1-0 down from the first leg in Portugal last week.
Speaking about Kane’s announcement ahead of that game, Nuno said: “Great news. Fantastic news. I think since Harry joined us he has been working so this is what we value. His attitude in training has been excellent.
“It’s finished, Harry is going to be with us. He is an option for tomorrow. It is great news for everybody. We are all very happy one of the best players in the world. Delighted to have one more option for the season ahead of us.”
Kane’s mention of “this summer” in his tweet inevitably raised questions about him potentially leaving in January, but Nuno insisted he was not concerned about that. “I am not worried at all,” the Portuguese said. “It’s day by day, he’s an option for tomorrow. It’s the only thing, my only thought. I am not going to say what we speak about. It’s between us.”