Spurs signed up a raft of first-team players on new contracts earlier this season, but The Sun say they and Harry Kane are ‘at loggerheads’ over a new deal. Kane’s current deal is worth £60,000 per week, some way behind the club’s top earners which doesn’t quite reflect his status within the squad. Kane is undoubtedly Mauricio Pochettino’s first choice striker, but earns £30,000 per week less than summer signing Moussa Sissoko. It is not unusual for stories such as this to emerge during the course of negotiations, as agents use every form of brinkmanship available to them to secure the best deal for their client. The Sun’s report reads:
“The England striker’s future is increasingly uncertain as the two parties are at loggerheads.
“Tottenham are refusing to offer a deal in line with Kane’s England strike partners or even make him one of the highest earners at White Hart Lane.
“No date has been set for the talks to resume with chairman Daniel Levy but it will be another massive worry for Spurs supporters following Hugo Lloris’ failure to agree fresh terms.”
Spurs operate with a very strict wage structure in which few players earn above £100,000 per week. With the move to their new stadium around the corner, it is vital Tottenham tie down their key assets. Although the latest round of lucrative TV money will soften the blow somewhat, building a new stadium is an expensive business and funds might be tight for a couple of years. It is far too soon to talk about Kane leaving Spurs; the England international seems content and has a debt of gratitude to a club that stuck by him through numerous loan spells.
Elsewhere, Kane has also been released early from Gareth Southgate’s England squad and has returned to Spurs. Daniel Sturridge was picked ahead of Kane for England’s qualifier against Scotland at Wembley, with the Liverpool striker opening the scoring with a well-placed header. Kane is short of match practice having spent seven weeks on the sidelines with an ankle injury, and Southgate and Spurs have decided that the best thing for him is to train with his club. The interim England boss said:
“Harry Kane has gone back to Tottenham. He reported for us last week but had not played a full game for seven weeks.
“Tottenham were more than happy for him to come with us. It was never really my intention to start him in a game and I think it’s important that he gets a different training program to what we’re going to follow over the next couple of days.”
Finally, Spurs youngster Harry Winks has said the success of other academy graduates under Pochettino has inspired him to try and emulate their feats, Winks has made eight first-team appearances this season, and was the pick of a young Spurs side that played at Anfield in the fourth round of the EFL Cup. The 20-year-old midfielder said:
“Everyone who has come through the academy and done so well – for us, it only inspires us to get to their level.
“Having a manager like the gaffer we have here, he gives us opportunities, he has faith in us to put us in the mixer and be part of that healthy competition.
“It’s brilliant and, for us, we need to work hard.”
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