Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou made it clear to Bayern Munich that there was only one deadline that mattered in their pursuit of Harry Kane (30).
Despite the England captain’s outstanding performance, scoring four goals in a 5-1 pre-season friendly win against Shakhtar Donetsk, Kane’s future at Spurs remains uncertain as he enters the final 12 months of his contract.
Bayern has been aggressively courting Kane, reportedly making their latest bid for the forward on Friday and setting a self-imposed deadline of midnight.
However, Spurs have stood firm during the pre-season transfer window, and Kane showed no signs of distraction, delivering an impressive hat-trick in just 55 minutes in what could be his last match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium under Postecoglou’s management.
Postecoglou emphasised that there was only one crucial date in the ongoing saga of Kane’s future, indicating that the situation remains far from settled.
“We know there’s one deadline, and that’s the end of the transfer window,” he said.
“Beyond that, I’m in open dialogue with Harry and with the club on a regular basis. I’ve said to them that if the status quo changes, then inform me…I’m building a team here. I can’t wait (around) for a decision either way to get going.”
Kane ‘invested’ in Spurs’ plans
The former Celtic manager added: “You saw today (Sunday) that Harry certainly is invested in what we’re doing, and we’ll keep on doing that unless something changes.”
Bayern have made no secret about their pursuit of Kane, with Postecoglou insisting: “I certainly wouldn’t talk about contracted players at other football clubs, but I’m not at Bayern, mate, so they can go the way they want.”
Postecoglou was given a rousing reception by the Spurs faithful, and the noise increased when it was announced Kane would captain the north London side in the absence of Hugo Lloris.
Kane, Tottenham’s all-time record scorer, had two early shots saved, before opening his account with a 38th-minute penalty after James Maddison had been brought down in the area.
The Ukrainian visitors equalised on the brink of halftime through Kevin Kelsy’s close-range header.
But Kane was soon back on the goal trail when he headed in a cross from fellow England international Maddison in the 50th minute.
He completed his treble five minutes later when Son Heung-Min found Dejan Kulusevski, who slipped the ball between Mykola Matviyenko’s legs, with Kane shooting powerfully into the bottom corner.
Lifelong Spurs fan Kane had already heard several renditions of “he’s one of our own” before his hat-trick, but a section of the crowd chanted “we want you to stay” after his third goal”.
Kane completed his haul for the day when he followed up from close range in the 79th minute after substitute Manor Solomon’s curled shot was saved