Harry Kane scored four times in Tottenham’s 5-1 friendly win against Shakhtar Donetsk, putting the continuing uncertainty over his future to one side during an 80‑minute runout.
Ange Postecoglou, the Spurs manager who celebrated a first win at the Tottenham Stadium, said afterwards that his priority was preparing for the new season whether Kane stays at the club or not. Bayern Munich were reported to have lodged their final bid for the forward with a deadline of midnight on Friday.
“From my perspective I don’t know what deadlines mean,” Postecoglou said. “We know there’s one deadline and that’s the end of the transfer window. Beyond that, I’m in open dialogue with Harry and with the club on a regular basis.
“I’ve said to them that if the status quo changes then inform me. I don’t need to know about the comings and goings in between. I just want to deal with what’s in front of me because I’ve got to still, irrespective of the outcome of that, I’m building a team here.”
Postecoglou said of Bayern’s very public approach: “That’s up to Bayern to decide. If that’s the way they want to conduct things, it’s not up to me to judge that. It doesn’t affect me. I don’t sit there on a daily basis and worry about what other clubs are doing. I think what is factual right now is that he is a contracted player of our football club.”
Kane showed few signs of distraction in grabbing a hat-trick in 55 minutes against Shakhtar. “You saw today that Harry certainly is invested in what we’re doing and we’ll keep on doing that unless something changes,” Postecoglou said. “There’s no doubt that I would use Harry, I don’t need today to tell me that. He’s a fantastic striker, one of the world’s best. I think the way the team plays will help him as well.”
Facundo Pellistri ensured Manchester United avoided defeat in their final pre-season friendly as Harry Maguire atoned for a first-half error to help secure a 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao in Dublin.
Maguire was booed by United fans after allowing Nico Williams to open the scoring before the break but set up the Uruguay international to level in stoppage time in front of a sell-out crowd at the Aviva Stadium, heading down an Aaron Wan-Bissaka cross for Pellistri to steer home the equaliser.
Maguire was included as one of 11 changes to the side that beat Lens 3-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday, with no place for injured £72m signing Rasmus Højlund a day after he had been presented to the club's fans.
The La Liga side scored after 29 minutes when Oihan Sancet capitalised on Maguire's slip to feed Williams. In the second half, Bilbao's Aitor Paredes was given a straight red card for hauling back Hannibal Mejbri before United found their late leveller.
Postecoglou was introduced to supporters before kick-off. “Yeah. Look, it is obviously a great stadium, a fantastic stadium actually,” he said. “It is actually my first time in here.”
The decibel level was raised further when Kane’s name was announced in the starting lineup and he was given the captain’s armband before being cheered throughout.
Kane scored his first in the 38th minute from the penalty spot after James Maddison had been brought down. Shakhtar equalised just before half-time through Kevin Kelsy before Maddison’s 50th‑minute floated cross was nodded in by Kane.
The hat-trick was completed five minutes later from Dejan Kulusevski’s assist as Kane drilled into the bottom corner. Spurs’ record goalscorer had already heard several renditions of “He’s one of our own” before his treble but a section of the South Stand then chanted: “We want you to stay”.
Kane’s tap-in fourth came after the substitute Manor Solomon’s shot was saved in the 79th minute. A minute later, Kane left the pitch to a standing ovation before he responded with applause to all four corners of the ground.
The academy graduate Dane Scarlett replaced Kane and scored with the last kick of the game. At the full-time whistle Kane again walked to each side of the stadium to clap the fans.
“I am just planning for preparing the team for Tuesday [when Spurs play Barcelona in a friendly] and then we’ll work our way into Brentford for next week,” Postecoglou said. “I haven’t even thought about who will start that game.”
Additional reporting by PA Media
