'Upset' Harry Kane staying at Spurs – for now – with Manchester City to be offered Cristiano Ronaldo
jason burt
·12 min read
Harry Kane (left) is staying at Spurs - could Cristiano Ronaldo (right) now join Man City? - GETTY IMAGES
An angry Harry Kane has conceded defeat in his summer-long battle to leave Tottenham and join Manchester City.
The England captain was subject of a £125 million bid from City, but Spurs chairman Daniel Levy refused to sanction a sale at that price leading Kane to tweet that he would "be staying at Tottenham this summer".
With Spurs highly unlikely to permit Kane to leave in the January transfer window, the England captain could seek to open talks over a new contract at Spurs, potentially including a clause allowing him to leave for a fixed fee. His current deal expires in 2024.
The England captain staying at Spurs will lead to Cristiano Ronaldo being offered to City in the next few days, as he wants a new challenge after three years at Juventus.
Kane insisted in a statement on his social media platforms that he “will be 100 per cent focused on helping the team achieve success” now his dream move has been ruled out, but he is understood to be deeply upset at Levy refusing to do business.
It was incredible to see the reception from the Spurs fans on Sunday and to read some of the messages of support I've had in the last few weeks. 👏⚽
I will be staying at Tottenham this summer and will be 100% focused on helping the team achieve success. #COYSpic.twitter.com/uTN78tHlk1
He believed there to be a gentleman’s agreement, which was not honoured, that should have allowed him to leave if Spurs failed to win a trophy or finish in the top four of the Premier League last season.
Levy did not want to negotiate with City for Kane, despite him telling Gary Neville in an interview that he wanted to leave and named City as his preferred destination where he would benefit from the service of Kevin De Bruyne. His attempts to engineer a move appeared to strengthen Levy’s resolve to keep him.
Kane now faces the prospect of looking to move next summer, when he will be 29 and Erling Haaland will be on the market with clubs looking to activate a release clause in his Borussia Dortmund contract.
Pep Guardiola took the unprecedented step of naming Kane as a player of interest to City at the start of the season but still believes he has the best squad in Europe despite not replacing Sergio Aguero with less than a week of the summer window left.
City's attention will now switch to alternative options, with Ronaldo the most intriguing. The 36 year-old has not been in City’s transfer plans and is far removed from their strategy of finding value in the market, but a move cannot be completely ruled out if obstacles can be overcome such as reductions in £500,000-a-week wages and a €25m fee.
As it stands, Guardiola will not panic into buying a striker unless the terms are right for the club. Robert Lewandowski is also eyeing a move but has a prohibitive £111m asking price at Bayern Munich, while highly-rated Fiorentina striker Dušan Vlahović has been offered fresh terms to stay with his Italian club.
Nuno Espirito Santo, the Tottenham head coach, has said confirmation that Kane will be staying sent an “important” message to the club.
Kane’s statement represents a significant boost for Nuno as he looks to impose his methods on his new players. He was without the forward for the opening games of the season before he made a substitute appearance against Wolves on Sunday.
“It was incredible to see the reception from the Spurs fans on Sunday and to read some of the messages of support I’ve had in the last few weeks,” Kane wrote. “I will be staying at Tottenham this summer and will be 100% focused on helping the team achieve success.”
Asked what sort of message it sent to have Kane remaining at the club, Nuno said: “To us it says we are able to keep one of the best players in the world. This is important.”
Nuno said he learned the news yesterday morning, when he was told of the latest developments by Kane. “It is fantastic news for everybody,” he said. “We are all very happy. We are all delighted to have one more option for the season ahead of us.”
Nuno added that he was “not worried at all” about the issue of Kane’s future resurfacing in January when the transfer window re-opens.
Kane could make his first start of the season in Tottenham’s Europa Conference League play-off against Pacos de Ferreira tonight.
Nuno’s side are trailing 1-0 from the first leg, when an experimental line-up failed to impress.
“We still have to decide [if Kane will play],” said Nuno. “We trained today, it was a fantastic session with all the boys involved. He is an option. This is the only thing and that is my only thought. Harry is one of the options.
“I think it is up to us and everybody, and the player himself, to get his motivation. There should not be any kind of doubts in terms of motivation to play for Spurs.”
Guardiola reveals his plans for the future
By Mike McGrath
Pep Guardiola has revealed he intends to take a break from football when his Manchester City contract expires at the end of next season.
The Spaniard, 50, wants a period away from football when he has completed seven years at the Etihad Stadium and will consider taking on an international team when he returns in the future.
City and Guardiola agreed fresh terms last season, committing the former Barcelona coach to the club until 2022/23. Speaking at an event held by XP Investimentos in Brazil, Guardiola spoke via Zoom about his coaching methods and plans for the future.
“The next step will be international football, if there is a possibility,” he said. “I must take a break after seven years (at Manchester City), I need to stop and see, learn from other coaches, and maybe take that path. I would like to train in a European Championship, a Copa America, a World Cup.”
Guardiola previously took a sabbatical following his glittering spell at Barca when he won three La Liga titles and two Champions Leagues during a four-year tenure. His time at City is now the longest he has coached at a club, in time and matches.
Despite a well-documented dinner with Sir Alex Ferguson during this break, Guardiola returned to football with Bayern Munich in 2013 and then moved to City three years later.
Guardiola’s extension was agreed in the middle of last season, with talks delayed by City’s hectic schedule in the Champions League and Premier League as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. It had run into the final year of the deal.
After winning the title and getting City to the Champions League final for the first time, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak described the relationship between coach and club as “a great partnership”. Khaldoon added that “the journey will go on as long as Pep is happy and we are happy”, with the club’s three titles during Guardiola’s time seen as taking them to a new level.
Should Guardiola stick to his plan, the club have two years to form a succession plan for the next manager to take the reins from the most successful coach in City’s history.
Harry Kane stays at Spurs, as it happened
01:39 PM
Rodney Marsh weighs in...
>Hope you got another gentleman's agreement.......
More from Nuno, Telegraph Sport's Sam Dean reports
"Since Harry joined us [in pre-season] he has been working and this is what we value. His attitude in training has been great."
01:02 PM
Another one: Nuno pleased Kane stays
"Great news. Fantastic news," he said. "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."
Nuno Espirito Santo the head coach / manager of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur at Molineux on August 22, 2021 in Wolverhampton, England - Getty Images
12:38 PM
Gollini pleased Kane stays
Sure he will be one of many, many at Spurs who end up saying something similar. Of course, Spurs are stronger with Kane but the whole saga got a bit unnecessarily messy...
Sam Dean reports:
Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini is speaking ahead of their Europa Conference League match against Pacos de Ferreira tomorrow.
Inevitably, the first question concerned Harry Kane and the breaking news that he will be staying at the club.
"We are very happy," said Gollini. "We know how good Harry is as a player and we know how important he is for the team. He is one of the best strikers in the world and it is very big, important news for us."
A reminder of what Kane told Gary Neville at the start of the summer
“I think it’s definitely a conversation to be had with the club. I want to be playing in the biggest games. The biggest moments.
“Like, this season I’m there watching the Champions League, watching the English teams in there doing amazing.
“They are the games that I want to be involved in. I want to be in them games.
“So for sure, it’s a moment in my career where I have to kind of reflect and see where I’m at and have a good, honest conversation with the chairman. I hope that we can have that conversation.
“I’m sure that he’ll want to set out the plan of where he sees it but ultimately it’s going to be down to me and how I feel and what’s going to be the best for me and my career in this moment in time.
“I hope we have a good enough relationship. I’ve given the club… well, I’ve been there 16 years of my life.
“So, I hope that we can have a good, honest conversation and see where we are at in that aspect.”
There are some rumours in the Tottenham Twittersphere about Kane being rewarded with a hefty pay rise and a new contract. No confirmed reports at this stage.
12:07 PM
Is Thomas Tuchel the big winner?
Chelsea landed the high-calibre striker in Romelu Lukaku, City have not. Advantage Chelsea in the title race?
The betting markets do not see it that way, City remain favourites although not has strong as they were before a ball was kicked.
12:06 PM
A decision he will live to regret?
And the moral of the story is don't sign a six-year contract with no release clause aged 24.
You get to keep your talisman and main source of goals for another season - surely that lifts your prospects for the season under Nuno Espirito Santo?
On the other hand, should the club have cashed in on their biggest asset and used the funds to buy fresh talent and rebuild? Clubs across Europe are cash strapped and £120m or more could have gone a long way...
12:01 PM
The tweet that Spurs fans were hoping for
It was incredible to see the reception from the Spurs fans on Sunday and to read some of the messages of support I've had in the last few weeks. 👏⚽
I will be staying at Tottenham this summer and will be 100% focused on helping the team achieve success. #COYSpic.twitter.com/uTN78tHlk1
Harry Kane will remain at Tottenham Hotspur for the upcoming season, ending Manchester City's summer-long pursuit of the striker.
The England captain confirmed his commitment to Spurs in a message on Twitter, having spent the past few months pushing for a move to City which has failed to materialise.
Kane said: "It was incredible to see the reception from the Spurs fans on Sunday and to read some of the messages of support I've had in the last few weeks. Clapping hands sign.
"I will be staying at Tottenham this summer and will be 100% focused on helping the team achieve success."
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was adamant Kane was not for sale and it seems he has got his wish. Kane and Levy were at loggerheads over the exact nature of their conversations last summer.
Levy was understood to believe the ‘gentleman’s agreement’ was that Kane would only be sold to a foreign club – unless an "amazing" offer was made by a Premier League side. Kane believed the proposal was put forward in subsequent meetings far more recently and, crucially, he never agreed to it insisting they stuck to the original plan.
City were expected to make one more effort to sign Kane before the window shuts at 11pm next Tuesday, but Levy did not drop his valuation or bow to any pressure over the striker’s future. Sources believe that Levy could even refuse a bid that gets close to £150million for Kane, despite the figure previously being quoted as his asking price for the 28-year-old.
City will now be faced with the choice of not signing a striker or considering an alternative. Fiorentina’s Dusan Vlahovic, who was a target of Tottenham, is believed to have been considered by City.
More to follow including live reaction from across English football.
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