Kane saga rumbles on

LONDON • Tottenham yesterday omitted Harry Kane from the first leg of their Europa Conference League play-off trip to Portuguese side Pacos de Ferreira as speculation continued to swirl around his future at the club.

The news came after The Telegraph reported that sources close to the England captain said he felt Spurs chairman Daniel Levy had gone back on his word to allow the 28-year-old to leave this summer.

According to an apparent "gentleman's agreement", Kane, who returned to full training on Tuesday, was told he could depart if the club failed to win a trophy or finished outside the top four last season.

Tottenham ended the term in seventh place, qualifying for only the inaugural Europa Conference League, Uefa's third-tier competition after the Champions League and Europa League.

They play the first leg today before next week's second leg, with the winners advancing to the competition proper.

Aside from Levy breaking his promise, Kane was also reportedly upset his one-week absence from training was a "miscommunication" perniciously used by the club to turn the fan base against him and was pushing for his side of the story to be told.

In June, Manchester City made an initial £100 million (S$187 million) bid for the reigning Golden Boot winner, which was swiftly turned down.

Pep Guardiola's side, who have designs on their fourth league title in five years and a maiden Champions League trophy, have now reportedly upped that bid to £125 million - a British record - but Levy refused to sell and rejected all calls from the English champions.

It has been said that Spurs are seeking £150 million - a fee which would make Kane the third-highest transfer in history after Neymar and Kylian Mbappe - but with Levy digging his heels in, it is unclear now whether he will allow the striker to move.

With three years left on Kane's contract, Spurs hold the aces, even though sources have indicated City are expected to make "one final push" to sign Kane before the transfer window closes on Aug 31.

Despite the chants of "Are you watching Harry Kane?" as Spurs beat City 1-0 last Sunday in their Premier League opener, he still has a cherished relationship with the home support, having come through the ranks after first joining the academy in 2004.

While Kane believes he should be granted a move to City in recognition for his long service, he reportedly will not rock the boat nor hand in a transfer request.

He has yet to win a trophy as a professional and should he not secure his desired transfer, he is prepared to knuckle down and his first appearance of the season might be at Wolves on Sunday as new Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo faces his old club for the first time.

But the 47-year-old Portuguese admitted earlier this week he may not have the talisman for long as the "31st of August is sometimes not in your hands".

Former Spurs manager Harry Redknapp yesterday told talkSport Levy was waiting it out to see if City would blink first and felt that Spurs' second-highest goalscorer (221 strikes) would eventually be sold for a record price.

"Daniel loves this, it's a game of poker for him. It's what he thrives on. He will hold out and get every last drop he can out of Man City to complete the deal," he said.

"It's time he (Kane) moved now. Daniel will look at it and think this time next year, he's another year older, they'll never get the money they'll get now.

"They're (Spurs) looking to bring a few players in as well. Daniel wouldn't be spending big money unless he knew he was getting money back in. I do see Kane being a Man City player before the end of the window."