Nuno Espírito Santo has confirmed Harry Kane has reported for pre-season at Tottenham, although it is expected he will not be able to train with his teammates until Thursday because of quarantine restrictions after his holiday in the Bahamas and Florida.
Spurs have also made a move for Internazionale's Lautaro Martínez, having offered to meet the club's £60m valuation, although, with Inter poised to sell Romelu Lukaku for £97.5m to Chelsea, it is unclear whether they will now offload their other key striker. Martínez's agent, Alejandro Camano, was quoted as saying his client had decided to stay at Inter.
The Kane saga rumbles on, with Nuno saying after his team had beaten Arsenal 1-0 in a home friendly courtesy of a late Son Heung-min goal that he hoped to speak to the striker on Monday. Kane is isolating at the Lodge – the hotel facility at the training ground – and he is working alone as he follows the quarantine rules that are associated with return from amber list destinations.
Kane is determined to leave Spurs and join Manchester City but so far the champions have not got close to Tottenham's £150m valuation. Spurs had expected Kane to report back to them last Monday only for him to stay away.
“Harry is with us,” Nuno said. “He has to quarantine. He is in the Lodge but he is training. He already made the first day with the sport scientists. We expect to integrate Harry when he follows all the protocols that we have to apply.
“I will speak with Harry probably as soon as possible. Not today, because today was the day of the match, but we have a training session tomorrow and, with social distancing, hopefully I will speak with Harry.”
Nuno offered little explanation for why Tanguy Ndombele was once again absent from the squad and he said that Cristian Romero, the Argentinian defender signed from Atalanta, had to be managed after finishing the Copa América final with an injury.
“Tanguy is not injured but we consider it is not yet the moment for him to be part of the game,” Nuno said. “Romero didn’t train yet with the group. It [HIS INJURY]is much better now but we have to be very careful.”
Meanwhile Mikel Arteta, who clashed with the Spurs midfielder Pierre-Emile Højbjerg during a fiery game, did not want to be drawn on the latest involving Joe Willock. The midfielder, who has been linked with a £22m move to Newcastle, was missing from the squad. "With Joe, I will explain the reasons when we can," Arteta said.
There was a touching moment when Arteta introduced Bukayo Saka as a 63rd-minute substitute and the Spurs supporters applauded him. The 19-year-old acknowledged the gesture with applause of his own.
Saka received racist abuse after missing the decisive penalty for England in the Euro 2020 final defeat against Italy. A banner inside Spurs’s stadium read: “North London stands with Bukayo Saka and all players against racism and discrimination.” - Guardian
