Harry Kane: Timeline of summer speculation over Tottenham striker’s future
The 28-year-old Spurs striker was keen to join Premier League champions Manchester City.
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Your support makes all the difference.Tottenham striker Harry Kane will remain at the club this summer after accepting he will not be joining Manchester City
The England captain was desperate to join the Premier League champions, but they got nowhere near the asking price as Spurs refused to sell.
Here, we take a look at how the saga unfolded.
May 17: Reports emerge that Kane has again told Spurs chairman Daniel Levy that he wants to leave this summer and believes he has a ‘gentleman’s agreement’.
May 19: Two days later Kane puts in a below-par performance as Spurs lose their final home game of the season against Aston Villa. With fans allowed in the ground he does a solo lap of honour in what looks like a goodbye.
May 20: An interview with Gary Neville, filmed a few days earlier, was released on YouTube and Kane doubles down. He tells Neville he needs a discussion with Levy about his future, puts a £100million price tag on his head and also subtly identifies Manchester City as the club he would like to join.
May 23: Tottenham end their season with a 4-2 win at Leicester where Kane scores to win the Premier League Golden Boot, as well as the Playmaker award. At full-time there are emotional scenes as he hugs long-time team-mates Son Heung-min, Dele Alli and Hugo Lloris.
June 19: Kane’s form is questioned after a sluggish start to Euro 2020 with England. Reports emerge that City have made a £100m offer for him, which was rejected.
June 25: With England’s progression to the knockout stages of the Euros booked, Kane tells the media that he has had no contact with Spurs over a possible sale.
July 16: New Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo says in his unveiling press conference that Kane is Tottenham’s player and he was told by chairman Levy that Kane could be “counted on”.
July 23: A showbiz journalist attending the wedding of Charlie Kane – the England captain’s brother and agent – reports that the family were telling guests that a £160m move to City had been agreed. Both clubs quickly denied the story.
August 2: Kane does not show up at the club’s training ground for pre-season tests. Spurs were expecting him to report and say he could be fined.
August 3: The England captain is revealed to be still on holiday in the Bahamas, but later lets it be known that he is due back at the club later that week.
August 6: Amid angry backlash from fans, Kane finally breaks his public silence by taking to social media and insisting he would never refuse to train and that he would return to the club the following day “as planned”. He also says he is hurt by fans questioning his professionalism. The statement comes after City boss Pep Guardiola publicly says his club want to sign Kane, but it is up to Tottenham to negotiate.
August 7: Kane arrives at the club’s training ground and goes into self-isolation following his return from the Bahamas – an amber-list destination. He begins to train individually and also speaks with Nuno for the first time.
August 13: After his quarantine period finishes, Kane continues to train individually. Nuno says that a decision on whether he will be involved in Tottenham’s Premier League opener – against City, of all teams – will be made after training the following day.
August 15: Kane is not included in the matchday squad and does not attend the stadium as Spurs beat City 1-0 thanks to Son’s goal. Spurs fans make their feelings on the situation known by chanting “Are you watching, Harry Kane?”
August 17: Kane trains with his Tottenham team-mates for the first time. In a clear attempt to wrestle back the moral high ground, his camp brief the media of a ‘broken promise’ by Levy to allow him to leave.
August 18: The England captain posts a picture of himself in Tottenham’s training kit.
August 19: The striker does not travel with the squad to Portugal for the Europa Conference League play-off first-leg tie against Pacos de Ferreira as he continues to train at the club’s training ground with a number of first-team players who did not make the trip.
August 22: Kane finally makes his first appearance of the season, coming off the bench in a 1-0 win at Wolves. He is treated to a rendition of “Harry Kane, he’s one of our own” by travelling Spurs fans, but Wolves supporters were not so generous.
August 25: In a statement on Twitter, Kane accepts that he will be staying at Spurs. He writes: “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 per cent focused on helping the team achieve success. #COYS”