Ange Postecoglou says no one at Tottenham Hotspur wants the Harry Kane transfer saga to drag on for “too long”, as he admitted: “I don’t think that is good for Harry, I don’t think it is good for the club.”
Kane’s future has been a constant talking point since Postecoglou took over at Spurs earlier this month, and during the club’s pre-season tour, which sees them leave Perth for Bangkok on Friday.
Bayern Munich are very interested in signing the striker and have already had a bid of £60million ($77.1m) plus add-ons rejected. They are confident that Kane, who only has a year left on his contract, wants to join them. Spurs have offered Kane a bumper new deal this summer but he has so far given no indication he will sign a new contract.
Discussing how important it is that there’s a resolution before Tottenham begin their season against Brentford on August 13, Postecoglou said: “I think, for everyone concerned, we don’t want to be doing it for too long. I don’t think that is good for anyone. I don’t think it is good for Harry, I don’t think it is good for the club, because as laser focused as we want to be, you end up sort of repeating yourself along the way.
“But the flip side of that is I don’t want to put a deadline on it, because that adds even more pressure. You want these things to happen for the right reasons. The reality of it is he’s still a contracted player at our football club, so that’s the way I see him. It’s not like his contract is ending (when the season starts) and he’s got to make a decision. He’s got another year. So from that part, I am not relaxed but I am not putting pressure on him or anyone else at the football club, saying: ‘Well we need to do this’. But, I don’t think deep down any of us want it to go on for too long.”
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Postecoglou reiterated though that even if there isn’t a hard deadline for a resolution of the start of the season, it’s not an issue he’s taking lightly. “It’s fair to say I am not relaxed about it!” he said. “It’s not something you go: ‘Ah, well, you know if it does or doesn’t happen!’ I mean it’s a very important part of this football club, not just the team, but the football club. He is such a massive figure.
“And as I have said already, whilst my focus isn’t on it on a daily basis because I’ve got other things I need to do, I know that every time I am talking to you guys, or whenever Harry is going to talk, that’s the first question you are going to get. So, you’ve got to deal with it.”
Postecoglou also discussed his relationship with chairman Daniel Levy and the importance of being able to manage up as a head coach.
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“There is always one or two, wherever I have been, key decision makers — and Daniel is no different to all the other ones I have worked with,” he said. “They are very passionate about their football club. That’s the one common denominator.
“For me, it’s about saying, what’s that relationship going to look like? I think what he wants to do is support me. I think that will be easy as he gets to know me a little bit better, which is only understandable. But I also understand that him being the key decision-maker, he is the one that made the decision to bring me in. So, for me, there’s an obligation I have now to make sure I repay that faith. He gave me this responsibility.”
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On the importance of managing up, Postecoglou joked: “Oh you have to mate, you have to. It would be great if you didn’t!”
“No, it’s very important because, like I said, it doesn’t matter who the manager is, it doesn’t matter how brilliant you think you are, you do need support. You need resources, you need an environment set up the way you want it if you are going to be successful. So to do that those people, as you said managing up [to], are the ones who are going to provide those things. They would be more willing to do that if you have a relationship with them.”
As for the process of getting the job, Postecoglou said that neither he nor Spurs gave it the hard sell. “Everything he needs to know about me as a manager, you’ve got 26 years of evidence of that — in terms of the way my teams play, the way I manage, the way I deal with people. And in terms of the club, again, I am pretty well versed in what the club is about, what the club has gone through in recent times and what the history of the club is. From that perspective, he didn’t really need to sort of sell me anything about that.”
Tottenham’s next pre-season game sees them face Leicester City on Sunday in Bangkok.
(Photo: Paul Kane/Getty Images)
