Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou told Bayern Munich only one deadline mattered in its bid to sign Harry Kane after the England captain scored four goals in a 5-1 pre-season friendly win at home to Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday.
Kane has entered the final 12 months of his six-year Spurs contract and has been courted aggressively by Bayern, with the German giant reported to have lodged its latest bid for the forward on Friday while setting a self-imposed deadline of midnight.
READ MORE: Kane scores 4 goals in potential Tottenham farewell amid interest from Bayern Munich
But with Spurs holding firm so far during the pre-season transfer window the 30-year-old Kane showed no sign of being distracted while scoring a hat-trick in 55 minutes against Shakhtar in what was new boss Postecoglou’s first match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but could be the Spurs’ hero’s last.
Postecoglou, however, said only one date counted when it came to the protracted saga of Kane’s future.
“We know there’s one deadline and that’s the end of the transfer window,” he said.
“Beyond that, I’m in open dialogue with Harry and with the club on a regular basis. I’ve said to them that if the status quo changes then inform me...I’m building a team here. I can’t wait (around) for a decision either way to get going.”
Kane ‘invested’ in Spurs’ plans
The former Celtic manager added: “You saw today (Sunday) that Harry certainly is invested in what we’re doing and we’ll keep on doing that unless something changes.”
Bayern has made no secret about its pursuit of Kane, with Postecoglou insisting: “I certainly wouldn’t talk about contracted players at other football clubs but I’m not at Bayern mate so they can go the way they want.”
Postecoglou was given a rousing reception by the Spurs faithful and the noise increased when it was announced Kane would captain the north London side in the absence of Hugo Lloris.
Kane, Tottenham’s all-time record scorer, had two early shots saved, before opening his account with a 38th-minute penalty after James Maddison had been brought down in the area.
The Ukrainian visitors equalised on the brink of half-time through Kevin Kelsy’s close-range header.
But Kane was soon back on the goal trail when he headed in a cross from fellow England international Maddison in the 50th minute.
He completed his treble five minutes later when Son Heung-Min found Dejan Kulusevski, who slipped the ball between Mykola Matviyenko’s legs, with Kane shooting powerfully into the bottom corner.
Lifelong Spurs fan Kane had already heard several renditions of “he’s one of our own” before his hat-trick but a section of the crowd chanted “we want you to stay” after his third goal”.
Kane completed his haul for the day when he followed up from close range in the 79th minute after substitute Manor Solomon’s curled shot was saved.
Postecoglou replaced the Tottenham talisman a minute later and Kane left the pitch to a standing ovation before responding with applause to all four corners of the ground.
Spurs academy graduate Dane Scarlett came on for Kane and scored with the last kick of the game.
The full-time whistle followed and Kane walked over on his own to each side of the stadium to clap the fans, but Australian boss Postecoglou played down the significance of the gesture.
“You are reading something into it, aren’t you,” he said. “I don’t even know what’s in Harry’s mind, let alone anyone else’s. I think all these things will obviously play out over the next period, we’ll deal with what happens from there.”
Comments
SHARE