Harry Kane has named Kevin De Bruyne as the Premier League player he would most like to link up with in comments that have intensified the impression he sees Manchester City as his destination of choice.
The Tottenham striker, who has made it clear he wants a transfer this summer, also told Gary Neville on the The Overlap podcast that he is not interested in a move abroad at this stage of his career.
City – like Manchester United and Chelsea – have been in touch with Kane’s representatives and they are keen to open talks over a deal for him. The recently crowned Premier League champions hold an interest in the Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland but it is unclear whether he will be available. City are looking to replace their iconic centre-forward Sergio Agüero, who will leave them at the end of the season.
Kane did not hesitate when asked by Neville to reveal the Premier League player who would help him to score even more goals. “De Bruyne for sure,” he said. “When I watch De Bruyne play, he’s a special, special player and some of the balls I see him put in for City are just a striker’s dream. He’s an outstanding player with the ball, off the ball, pressing, but his delivery is as good as I’ve ever seen.”
In preview clips released from the Neville interview on Thursday, Kane had suggested that Daniel Levy, the Spurs chairman, may be wise to sell him in the upcoming window because his value is at its peak. Kane also mentioned £100m as a potentially acceptable figure.
Levy’s silence has been deafening, as has that of the club, where there is fury at how Kane has sought to force the issue during the final week of the season as they fight for Europa League qualification. Levy, who is tying to appoint a permanent managerial successor to José Mourinho, who he sacked on 19 April, does not want to sell Kane.
In the full interview, which came out on Friday, Kane discusses his ambition to overtake Alan Shearer as the Premier League’s all-time top scorer. Shearer retired with 260 goals in the competition; Kane has 165. It was in this context that Kane said he wanted to stay in England. It is extremely questionable whether the biggest two clubs in Spain – Real Madrid and Barcelona – could afford him.
“I guess injuries would be the biggest thing stopping me [from getting Shearer’s record],” Kane said. “Of course, there’s always the option of maybe moving abroad one day but I don’t think that really interests me in the near future.
“I’m 27 so I’ve still got, hopefully, a long way to go so, yeah, it’s definitely there. I’ve consistently scored 20 plus in my injury-free seasons in the Premier League so if I can do that for the next four or five years then it’ll be there.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t [want the Premier League record]. If I get to the end and I haven’t broken that record and the Wayne Rooney England record [of 53 goals; Kane has 34] then I’d probably be a little disappointed in myself.”
Kane wants to leave in order to win the biggest trophies, which he has been unable to do at Spurs, although he has gone close with title challenges in 2016 and 2017 and defeat in the 2019 Champions League final to Liverpool. The club made no signings in the summer of 2018 or January 2019 and Kane expressed his frustration at their failure to build upon strong foundations.
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“It was a big opportunity for us,” Kane said. “We were in a real good place with the team. For one reason or another we didn’t quite do what we needed to do and where we’re at now, I feel like we’re at a rebuild stage again. It’s disappointing.
“I’m not going to say it [the opportunity] is not there any more. One or two good players can take the team over the line with Liverpool, City and teams like that. But, for sure, I feel like it was an opportunity missed for the club to do something special.”
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