Nuno Espírito Santo has raised the possibility of including Harry Kane in his Tottenham squad to face Manchester City on Sunday, despite the England captain's delayed return to pre-season.
The club had expected Kane to come back last Monday only for him to continue a holiday in the Bahamas and Florida, which are amber-list travel destinations. The striker, who is determined to force through a transfer to City, reported on Saturday and is isolating and working alone at The Lodge – the hotel facility at Spurs's training ground.
It is expected that Kane will rejoin training with the rest of the group on Thursday, provided that he passes the necessary Covid tests.
“All the players that are in the squad are available and then it’s up to us to decide who we consider as the best options,” Nuno told Sky Sports. The manager was asked whether that included Kane. “All the players that are in the squad that work on a daily basis will be options for us,” he said. “Then it’s up to us to decide.”
City had offered a deal worth £100m for Kane only for Spurs to insist that their star player is not for sale. For them to change that stance, the defending champions would have to go to at least £150m – a number they have indicated they will not reach.
City did complete the £100m signing of Kane's England teammate Jack Grealish from Aston Villa last Thursday and, after one training session with them on Friday, the midfielder appeared as a 65th-minute substitute in Saturday's Community Shield, which the club lost 1-0 to Leicester. Grealish had reported for training at Villa last Monday after his post-Euro 2020 break.
Nuno maintained his inscrutable front on Kane when asked whether he was disappointed at the player’s absence until Saturday.
“It’s not about that,” Nuno said. “It’s about what we have to do to solve the situation. This is important. We have to solve it together, everybody involved has to solve it together.” – Guardian
