Ange Postecoglou says he has not received assurances over Harry Kane’s future and will not give the striker special treatment. Tottenham’s new manager indicated he was relaxed about the issue after the club received a new offer for Kane from Bayern Munich, which they are expected to reject.
Bayern came back on Sunday with an €80m (£68.5m) bid for Kane, having initially offered €70m, but it is unlikely to change anything for the Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy. Postecoglou, speaking to the media for the first time since taking the job, said he would like to keep Kane and would hold talks with the England captain, who is due to report for pre-season on Wednesday.
“I haven’t had any assurances and I wouldn’t expect any assurances, because when you’re dealing with these kind of things you’re never dealing with definites or certainties in anything in life,” Postecoglou said. “That’s just my nature. I just go along and try to concentrate on the things I know right now. What I know right now is that Harry is part of this squad and he’s looking forward to coming back to training and being amongst these players and starting to work together.
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“If I spend too much time worrying about the impact it might have either way, I’m going to miss trying to build a team because ultimately that’s what’s going to make us successful … I don’t think it’s my role to sit down and treat people in a manner because of their circumstances.
“I’m really big on treating everyone the same and Harry has already entrenched himself in the history of this football club. He’s a very important part. He’s one of the premier strikers in the world and I want him involved. My conversation with him will be about how we can make this club successful.”
The situation is tense because Kane, who has 12 months to run on his contract, will not sign a new deal while the transfer window remains open. Spurs have offered him fresh terms – a massive increase on his basic £200,000 a week – but Kane wants to see how the market plays out.
Kane has not ruled out signing a new contract at Spurs, especially if the team improve under Postecoglou, although it is rated as a distant third in his list of options behind leaving now or as a free agent next summer.
Kane, who turns 30 at the end of this month, is tempted by Bayern, with whom he would stand a very good chance of winning team silverware for the first time.
Levy has resolved to keep Kane and he believes that the huge new contract offer allied with the sense of optimism under Postecoglou can persuade the player that his long-term future lies with his boyhood club. One of the big questions concerns how much value Levy places on getting one last season out of Kane, which could be offset against the potential loss of a transfer fee. For example, if Kane could help to fire Spurs back into the Champions League, it would trigger a sizeable windfall.
Clubs who reached the last 16 of last season’s competition earned roughly £29m in prize money, plus further income, notably from television and gate receipts. Levy may also consider the damage that would be done to his standing were he to sell Kane.
Postecoglou said: “What I want is to introduce myself to Harry and give him my vision of the football club. And get a sense from him on what he thinks the club needs to do to be successful and walk out on that training pitch and try and make it happen.”
