Harry Kane has angered Tottenham by refusing to report for pre-season training – the latest and most aggressive move of an exit strategy he hopes will end with a transfer to Manchester City.
The England captain, who will be fined for the no-show, believes he has a gentleman’s agreement with the chairman, Daniel Levy, that allows him to leave this summer. But it is clear that Spurs do not feel under any obligation to wave him on his way – whatever was said has been interpreted differently by the two parties – and Levy is now expected to dig in even harder to retain his talisman, who has three years on his contract.
Levy has long been against selling players to Premier League rivals and, to him, it is just unfortunate for Kane that City are his most viable suitor as clubs in mainland Europe struggle to finance major transfers in the coronavirus era.
Kane, who is desperate for trophies having won no team honours, was due at Spurs’s training ground on Monday morning after a three-week break since his exertions at Euro 2020, when he led England to the final. But the 28-year-old stunned Levy and the hierarchy when he failed to turn up, attempting to pressure them into agreeing a deal with City.
The defending champions, who have made a £100m offer to Aston Villa for Jack Grealish, have seen a similar bid for Kane turned down. They have dismissed the notion that they would be prepared to pay £160m for Kane.
Villa do not want to sell Grealish, who also featured for England at the Euros and did turn up on Monday morning for his first day of pre-season work, but they may find it difficult to keep him if he asks to leave.
Spurs were not prepared to discuss whether Kane was now on strike and what the player does next is unclear, raising the prospect of a day-to-day soap opera. All the indications are that it will run until the closure of the transfer window on 31 August.
Spurs remain in negotiations with Atalanta for the Argentina centre-half Cristian Romero, who would cost about £45m.
