Harry Kane has reportedly asked for up to £400,000 a week in order to sign a new bumper contract extension at Tottenham in the aftermath of yesterday’s dramatic U-turn. The England captain confirmed in a statement on his social media channels that he has decided to stay put this summer, ending Manchester City’s slim hopes of completing their second British-record transfer of the window before the August 31 deadline.
Kane has angled for a move to the Etihad Stadium all summer but Spurs chief Daniel Levy has continued to play hardball with the champions, insisting his frontman is not for sale at any cost.
It’s understood that Tottenham have not even been picking up the phone in recent weeks after rejecting two bids, reportedly in the region of £100million and £120m.
The 28-year-old has now declared that he is willing to stay in north London with talks over a new contract now underway behind the scenes.
“It was incredible to see the reception from the Spurs fans on Sunday [against Wolves] and to read some of the messages of support I’ve had in the last few weeks,” Kane tweeted yesterday afternoon.
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Interestingly, football.london’s Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold declared a matter of weeks ago that Kane’s entourage were not ruling out a new deal despite his clear desire to join City.
He said on the Gold and Guest Talk Tottenham podcast: “I think if Man City really wanted Harry Kane, they’d have gone in hard right at the start of the summer.
“I know he didn’t have a release clause like Jack Grealish but ‘here’s the money, take it or leave it’.
“I don’t think this ‘here’s a little bit more money’ has really helped Harry Kane whatsoever.
“I think we are now in a situation where it’s far less likely that he moves than he does.
“It’s too little time but I’m intrigued to see where this goes now for Kane and camp Kane, the people around him.
“There’s little bits of noises coming out from his camp not to entirely rule out a new contract for him.
“That would be an incredible U-turn and for me, even the prospect of that is incredible.”
Meanwhile, Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo has declared his delight at Kane’s decision to stay as he prepares to restore the striker to the Spurs starting XI.
“Great news. Fantastic news for everybody,” Nuno said ahead of the UEFA Conference League second leg versus Pacos de Ferreira. “We are all very happy. One of the best players in the world. We are all delighted to have one more option for the season ahead of us.
“I think since Harry joined us he has been working, so this is what we value. His attitude in training sessions has been great. It’s finished, Harry is going to be with us.
“He worked today, he is an option for tomorrow. Like I said, fantastic news for everybody.”