MY ACCOUNT
Antonio Conte wants Harry Kane to sign a new deal at Tottenham, but is uncertain if his star striker will do so.
Kane seemed to be close to leaving the club where he has spent his entire career so far in 2021 when Manchester City were trying to sign him, only for Pep Guardiola’s side to be reportedly put off by Spurs’ asking price.
Despite a poor start to last season, Kane has thrived since the arrival of Conte as head coach last November, recording 28 goal involvements (20 goals, eight assists) in 32 Premier League games since the Italian came in.
His two goals against Nottingham Forest on Sunday helped Spurs to a 2-0 win at the City Ground, and rumours have begun about Kane penning a new deal at the club.
However, speaking at a press conference ahead of the trip to West Ham on Wednesday, Conte said while he would like Kane to commit further, he did not have any information on it.
“I have to be honest with you, I don’t know, I don’t know about this situation, I don’t know the details, honestly, honestly,” he said.
“You know we are talking about an important player for Tottenham, and the desire of everybody into the club is [for Kane] to continue to stay with Tottenham, to sign a new contract. But if you ask me about the details, about information, I cannot answer you.”
The transfer window closes on Thursday, with Spurs having already added Yves Bissouma, Ivan Perisic, Richarlison, Djed Spence and Fraser Forster, as well as Clement Lenglet on loan and Destiny Udogie, who has been loaned back to Udinese.
Conte said he has made his feelings clear to the club about last-minute additions, but insisted he will be happy whatever happens, saying: “I spoke with the club. I spoke with [director of football, Fabio] Paratici, with [chairman] Daniel Levy, I said to them my opinion.
“But as you know very well, the most important thing is for the club to know my opinion. If we do something or not, it’s OK.”
One of the new arrivals, Richarlison, earned rave reviews for his performance from the bench against Forest as the former Everton man played a delightful cross with the outside of his right boot for Kane’s second goal, and Conte added to the praise.
“I think about Richy, we are really happy,” he said. “We are talking about a player who can help us a lot, we are talking about a player who is really good addition, especially up front. In the past at Tottenham [we] didn’t have a player of this level behind Harry, behind [Son Heung-min]. Now we have a really good player.
“He is in the best moment of his career, to stay in Tottenham to show his talent, he has a big [talent] for sure. He can help us a lot in this season. And now every time he is playing, also for 20-30-40 minutes, he is playing very well. For sure in the next games you will see him in the starting 11.”
