England team-mates ‘believe Harry Kane might refuse to join up with Tottenham squad for pre-season

Several members of the England squad think Harry Kane will refuse to attend Tottenham Hotspur’s pre-season training in a bid to force a move to Manchester City.    

Nuno Espirito Santo has tried to shut down talks of Kane quitting Tottenham this summer – insisting during his first press conference as their new boss that the club could ‘count’ on the striker next season. 

However, according to The Telegraph, Kane’s Euro 2020 team-mates believe he will withdraw from the club’s pre-season schedule if Spurs chairman Daniel Levy stands in the way of a potential deal with another Premier League giant. 

Such a move would replicate that of Gareth Bale – who pulled out of a pre-season tour in 2013 before sealing an £86million move to Real Madrid.  

Kane – who has another three years on his Tottenham contract – is currently enjoying a break following England’s Euro 2020 campaign, but is due to return to club duty later this month. 

However, he has previously expressed a desire to leave north London this summer in search of trophies, with Manchester City his preferred destination. 

Nuno has yet to speak to the England captain since taking over the reins at Tottenham, but chairman Levy is adamant Kane is not for sale. 

Tottenham’s new director of football Fabio Paratici is also keen to rebuild a team centred around the forward for the 2021-2022 season. 

Nevertheless, Kane has a reported ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with Levy – ensuring the club will listen to bids for him this summer.  

However, given Nuno’s most recent comments, it seems unlikely that the club will allow the striker to leave, referring to the England star as ‘our player’ on Friday.  

‘Harry is our player, period,’ said Nuno. ‘No need to talk about anything else. Now is the moment for Harry to recover his energy, to rest. 

‘When he comes again we will have time to speak. We will have good conversations, but now is the moment for Harry to rest and to prepare for what’s coming. And I’m looking forward to him joining the group and starting working together.

‘I didn’t speak to any of the players in the national teams, no one. Because I believe if I was on the other side it would be disrespectful.   

‘I think the players in the national team should be focussed on the national team. He has a hard job to do, totally committed to the national team, obviously, so this is why I decided not to speak to any of them. 

‘I will speak when they arrive. This is the right moment in our own building, face to face, sitting down and to prepare our future together.

‘Harry’s one of the best footballers in the world and he’s a Tottenham player.’

When asked specifically about the gentleman’s agreement between Kane and Levy, Nuno replied: ‘All the conversations that we had, all the squad are available, and we have a lot of good players, I can count on. And I’m counting on each and every one of them.

‘I had a lot of meetings, we spoke about a lot of things, But one thing is for sure: what we speak about between us, stays between us. 

‘What I can say about that is Harry Kane is one of the best football players in the world and he’s with us, he’s our player, he’s Tottenham’s player. That can make us very proud.’