(REUTERS, AFP) - Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane said on Wednesday (Aug 25) that he will stay at the club and be "fully focused on helping the team achieve success", ending speculation about a potential move to English Premier League champions Manchester City.
"It was incredible to see the reception from the Spurs fans on Sunday (at the 1-0 away win over Wolves) and to read some of the messages of support I've had in the last few weeks," the England captain wrote on Twitter. "I will be staying at Tottenham this summer and will be 100% focused on helping the team achieve success."
Kane had made clear his desire to leave his boyhood club in the quest to end his wait for the first trophy of his career. He was a major target for City, whose Spanish manager Pep Guardiola earlier this month saying that it was up to Tottenham to make the transfer happen.
However, the 28-year-old was warmly welcomed back by the Tottenham support as he made his first appearance of the season as a substitute in a 1-0 win at Wolves last weekend.
Manager Nuno Espirito Santo welcomed the news, calling him "one of the best players in the world".
"It's fantastic news... I think since Harry joined us he has been working, so this is what we value. His attitude in training has been excellent. It's finished, Harry is going to be with us," the Portuguese said.
Kane is Tottenham's second top goalscorer in history with 221, just 45 off the record held by Jimmy Graves.
Yet, his prolific record has not been able to end the north London club's 13-year wait for silverware.
He still has three years left to run on a six-year contract signed in 2018 that left Spurs chairman Daniel Levy with the leverage to demand a fee well in excess of the £100 million (S$186 million) Premier League record City paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish earlier this month.
Levy will be hoping keeping hold of Kane can help fire Tottenham back into the Champions League next season after missing out for the past two years.
The striker returned late to pre-season training following Euro 2020 and missed Tottenham's opening two games of the season against City, in the Premier League, and Pacos de Ferreira, in the Europa Conference League play-off first leg.
Spurs have made a bright start under new manager Nuno, beating City 1-0 before extending their 100 per cent start at Molineux.
Under former manager Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs reached the Champions League for four consecutive seasons from 2016-17 to 2019-20, including reaching the final for the first time in the club's history in 2018.
The decision to sack Pochettino in November 2019 and replace the Argentinian with Jose Mourinho has backfired on Levy, as Tottenham have finished sixth and seventh in the Premier League in the past two seasons.
Mourinho was also unable to end their trophy drought that stretches back to 2008.
A prolonged search for Mourinho's successor upped the pressure on Levy not to lose Kane this summer.
