Report: Tottenham keen on £41m PL winner, could be involved in past-exchange deal – originally posted on Sportslens.com
What’s the charm of a transfer window if there’s no saga? Last summer, it was Jadon Sancho; this summer, the drama will be provided by none other than Harry Kane.
Kane, a usually reserved bloke, appears to have got disillusioned with life at Tottenham (explosive interview with Gary Neville), and although he is not openly agitating a move, the indications are clear he doesn’t want to stay in north London either.
The England skipper may disagree with his price tag, but he is not the one who is going to call the shots here — it’s Daniel Levy, who reportedly has slapped a massive £150m price tag on Kane’s shoulders.
With clubs in Europe still struggling with finances due to the pandemic, it’s hard to think any of Kane’s potential suitors would show the braggart and audacity to dish out such a hefty transfer fee for one single player.
Manchester City are reportedly keen to sign the 27-year-old striker who enjoyed one of his best campaigns in 2020-21, topping the goal scoring chart, and also providing most assists in the Premier League.
City could offer players in exchange plus cash to sweeten the deal for Kane. And that is where the transfer saga comes to life.
On Monday, SL writer Alani had covered a story from The Sun that claims Pep Guardiola is ready to sacrifice both Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus in a bid for Kane. Excerpt from Alani’s piece:
“The England international also wants to move to the Etihad Stadium and has revealed his dream to play alongside Kevin de Bruyne, but Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is ready to play hardball and block a move.
“He has slapped a £150million price tag on Kane’s head, but Man City are hoping to offset some of that fee by using two of their attackers as bait.
“Sterling ended the campaign with 15 goals across all competitions while Jesus bagged 14 goals as the Cityzens won the League Cup and Premier League title.
“Nevertheless, they are not starters under Guardiola and the Catalan is looking to make some squad changes after Saturday’s defeat to Chelsea in the Champions League final.”
Nearly, 24 hours later, the Daily Mail comes out with an Exclusive – on a similar story, only Sterling has been replaced by City defender Nathan Ake.
‘Get ready for a swap shop!’ – the headline read.
The long headline runs as …” and at least one Manchester City star could be heading to Tottenham as part of a potential Harry Kane deal.”
Personally, I don’t get this idea of a scoop that has the word ‘could’ in it.
The report claims that Spurs “are known to be keen” for both Jesus and Ake.
There is a feeling that Guardiola could make his own cull to bring in new faces, and Jesus and Ake could be offloaded to make room for Kane.
Excerpt from the report:
“Ake, a £41million signing from Bournemouth, came through the ranks at Chelsea and would be considered homegrown, despite being Dutch. While the 26-year-old made only nine starts in the Premier League and did not play in the Champions League in 2021, he too may take some persuading to head back to London.”
So, basically, it’s an Exclusive opinion. The development of the event has been spoiled with the word ‘could’, which is a conjecture, and secondly, Ake’s name has been thrown into the mix just because he hasn’t played much.
The Daily Mail do not seem to have solid information (till now) as they write Ake “may take some persuading” while the entire article doesn’t state clearly whether the Dutchman has become surplus to requirements.
Aymeric Laporte is another player who would be permitted to leave but he is unlikely to be interested in moving to Spurs.
I wonder what Levy must be thinking after being pitched with the idea of a swap deal for Kane involving Ake and Jesus!
In other news, Spurs defender admits he is open to a summer exit.