NO HURRY TO SELL HARRY
TOTTENHAM chairman Daniel Levy will refuse to sell Harry Kane this summer as Manchester City prepare to make a £100million bid.
City have stepped up their interest and are pushing to get a deal done, although Spurs say they have yet to receive a formal offer for the England captain, right, who turns 28 next month.
Chelsea have also made enquiries while Manchester United are watching developments closely. But it is City who seem determined to steal a march on their Premier League rivals.
Levy, however, is adamant they will not sell this summer, even though Kane has made it very clear that he wants to leave in order to try and finally land some silverware.
City manager Pep Guardiola is targeting a big-name striker after Sergio Aguero moved and that has
left the Premier League champions as the frontrunners to sign him.
United are refusing to enter a bidding war after being bruised by past dealings with Levy.
Champions League winners Chelsea are also keen on Borussia Dortmund’s star forward Erling Haaland but still retain an interest in Kane.
The belief at Spurs is Kane will end up staying.
The club’s talismanic striker has three years remaining on his contract, so clearly this close season is crucial to his long-term plans.
Levy knows that amid Spurs’ search for a managerial replacement for the sacked Jose Mourinho – which is rapidly becoming a farce – that selling their prize asset would be a devastating blow. All the managerial candidates have been told that Kane will be staying at the club.
Spurs supporters are growing frustrated as they have missed out on former boss Maurico Pochettino, Antonio Conte and Paulo Fonseca.
Talks with Gennaro Gattuso also broke down last week.
The fans do not begrudge Kane a move to pursue trophies and, despite limited numbers being allowed to enter their new stadium last month, they gave him a great send-off for what might have been his final home game.
However, any notion that a new manager would persuade Kane to stay also appears to be wearing thin, with the Golden Boot winner seemingly as determined as ever to quit the club he joined as a teenager in 2009.
City are targeting a striker, with Aguero having left for Barcelona, and have Kane as their top target. Guardiola is pushing hard with little encouragement from Spurs to date.
But that could change if the pursuit for Kane hots up.