Maddison dismisses Kane 'distraction' and gives view on Bayern transfer link
Spurs star James Maddison has admitted he would "love" Harry Kane to stay at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium amid interest from Bayern Munich.
England captain Kane has entered the final year of his Tottenham contract, and Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich have made their interest in a summer move clear. Kane will be able to leave North London for nothing next summer if he doesn't agree a contract extension, but Bayern need to decide whether to return with a fresh approach after seeing two bids knocked back.
Thomas Tuchel's side are thought to be confident of getting a deal over the line, having raised further funds through the sale of Sadio Mane to Al-Nassr. A deal worth £90m might be enough, but Maddison - who already knew Kane well from their time together with England - insists the debate over his team-mate's future hasn't distracted those around the club.
"It hasn't been a distraction, Harry is super professional," said Maddison, speaking at the TNT Sports start of season event in London. "I won't go into details because I don't know anything and let's be respectful about Harry's situation.
"Everyone knows what Harry Kane is like, he's a super professional guy and whatever club he is at, whenever he goes into training he gives 100 per cent and it's the same as all the lads so not at all really," he added. Spurs' higher-ups have remained keen for their top scorer to sign a new deal, and Maddison is hopeful about his international colleague remaining a club team-mate.
Marcel Sabitzer completes Man Utd transfer after last-minute deadline day dash
"We were friends before I joined Tottenham from the England squad, we have similar interests and get on well anyway away from football," Maddison added. "I would love Harry Kane to stay, he's the best No9 in the world in my opinion. But what will be will be and Harry is super professional."
Will Harry Kane stay at Spurs? Have your say in the comments section
James Maddison joined England team-mate Harry Kane at Spurs this summer (C1 Media)Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou was asked about Kane's future in mid-July, and insisted at the time that he wouldn't let it be a distraction. More recent reports have suggested any deal would need to be wrapped up before Spurs begin their season against Brentford on August 13, allowing them to find a replacement.
"It's not something that I’m sitting down and demanding from people right from the outset," Postecoglou said at the start of his team's pre-season programme. "The reality is we have a bit less than a month before the season starts, the transfer window is still open for a while, so we'll see how it all transpires. There hasn't been a discussion [about Bayern].
"There are a lot of people that know Harry better than me but he's not going to get fazed by anything. He's here and while he's here, he's totally committed to what we're doing. That's that way I've seen things. In terms of me, it has zero impact on me. If other clubs want to talk about our contracted players, that's more of an issue for them than us."
Kane finished as Spurs' top scorer last season with 30 league goals, the joint-best return of his career. Only Erling Haaland scored more in the Premier League, so it would be a big hole to fill if he does move on.
New manager Postecoglou has begun adding to his squad, with Maddison the highest-profile addition. Manor Solomon and Guglielmo Vicario have also been brought in, while Pedro Porro and Dejan Kulusevski have joined permanently after loan spells.
TNT Sports is the ultimate home for sports fans. You can watch on all major TV platforms including BT TV, Sky and Virgin Media. As the new streaming destination for TNT Sports, discovery+ offers an unrivalled combination of live sport rights – including Eurosport – together with entertainment in one place. This isn’t Just Sport, This is Everything. For more info visit:
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
