Harry Kane reiterated his desire to leave Tottenham before Euro 2020, Man City have seen a £100m bid for England striker rejected; Nuno Espirito Santo also confirmed Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale would not be returning to the club
Friday 16 July 2021 23:05, UK
New Tottenham head coach Nuno Espirito Santo says he has "no doubts" over Harry Kane's commitment to the club.
Kane reiterated his desire to leave Tottenham this summer ahead of Euro 2020 with a host of clubs interested in the 27-year-old, including Chelsea and Manchester United.
Manchester City tabled a £100m bid for the striker in June but the offer was rejected.
Speaking at his first press conference as Spurs head coach, when asked if he expects to have Kane at the club for the beginning of the season, Nuno responded: "I have no doubts in my mind. What I wish is for Harry to recover well and have a good rest.
"When he arrives he will feel that he has to commit himself to become better. We are ambitious, we want to do well and we count on Harry to do that.
"Harry is our player, period. There is no need to talk about anything else. Now is the time for him to rest. When he returns we can have a good conversation. I am looking forward to him joining the group."
Kane has three years remaining on his Spurs contract but despite his status as one of the Premier League's most prolific strikers, topping the scoring charts with 23 goals in the top flight last term, he has yet to win a major trophy in his career.
Tottenham ended the 2020/21 Premier League campaign with a seventh-placed finish and lost the Carabao Cup final to Manchester City.
Before appointing Nuno, the Spurs hierarchy also held talks with Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino, Paulo Fonseca, Gennaro Gattuso and Julen Lopetegui during the summer.
But the new Spurs boss does not feel he has win over the club's fans.
He continued: "I am here, this is where I want to be, I am so happy. What we want is to make our fans proud and make our teams love their players, let's make our fans proud, to create a good atmosphere.
"I'm totally positive that the fans are going to love it."
Nuno admitted he has not yet been in contact with Kane or any of his players who were involved in the Euros or Copa America this summer but has begun work with the rest of squad at Hotspur Way.
He also said conversations are ongoing with new director of football Fabio Paratici and technical performance director Steve Hitchen with regards to transfers in and out of the club.
"It has been great since we arrived. It's hard work, it's all about pre-season and trying to commit everyone to work hard. The attitude commitment of the boys has been great, and I am delighted to be here.
"We've been talking. Me, Fabio (Paratici) and Steve (Hitchen). We're aware there's a lot of work to be done. It's hard work to improve the quality we have. We need to find the right players.
"On a daily basis we talk. Fabio and Steve, they do their job in the market. I do mine on the training ground. To improve our squad is not easy."
Nuno also confirmed Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale will not be returning to the club next season.
The Wales international spent last term on loan at Tottenham where he made 20 appearances in all competitions.
Although Bale has just one year left on his contract at the Bernabeu, Nuno has categorically ruled out a third spell at the club.
Speaking at his first press conference as Spurs head coach, Nuno spoke bluntly on Bale, saying: "He will not be part of our squad."
Bale's future has been the subject of intense speculation with the 32-year-old expected to hold talks with new Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti over his future following the end of Euro 2020.
Ancelotti was in charge when Bale joined Real from Spurs in September 2013 going on to win the Champions League together later that season.
There is a lot of mutual respect between the pair with Bale describing Ancelotti as a "great manager".
