Tottenham Hotspur not interested in player swap deals for Harry Kane

Yesterday, word broke that Manchester City had made their first real move in attempting to buy the services of Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane.

The story broke via Fabrizio Romano and was instantly run through the ringer by other writers. Alasdair Gold almost immediately threw cold water on it, saying no official bid had been received. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle: City have probably kicked the tires, so to speak, just to see where Daniel Levy’s interest actually piques.

Jack Pitt-Brooke of The Athletic is here to tell you that only cold, hard cash is going to get Levy to the negotiating table, and even that’s a long shot.

The story is paywalled as it is The Athletic, but there’s very little here that’s new: Daniel Levy is not interested in cash+player deals or player swaps, even though City have a couple of players Spurs could genuinely use. We know player swap deals are rare and the last one that I can think of involving Daniel Levy was the deal sending Gylfi Sigurdsson to Swansea City for Michel Vorm and Ben Davies, even though there was a bit of cash involved with that deal.

Levy’s stance has not changed: It’s going to take a bid of £150m to turn his head. The Euros have given him a bit of extra time to consider transfer deals, though that whole messy situation of Spurs still not having a manager is a pretty big roadblock. Pitt-Brooke talks about that as well, stating that the club have returned to original targets such as Graham Potter and Erik ten Hag. You know: The guys we probably should have offered awhile ago to avoid this whole circus.

Harry Kane is one of the best strikers in the world, if not the top guy. He also turns 28 next month and with three years remaining on his deal, the perfect storm has come together. Levy will almost certainly play hardball as long as he can, especially with Spurs and City facing each other in the opening match. That being said, Spurs have a lot of holes to fill as well as deadwood to sell off. If Levy hadn’t screwed up with the Super League and the managerial search, I think supporters would be more understanding if the decision to sell Harry Kane actually happened. Instead, Levy needs a win in the worst way, and hanging onto arguably the best striker in the world is a pretty big win.

The situation is one I would not want to be involved in. If Potter or Ten Hag are hired and say “We need to blow it up” then Levy probably listens to City and comes to an agreement on a figure that’s nine figures. But if the incoming manager makes it clear he wants Harry Kane to stay, Levy is going to dig his heels in and force Kane to demand a transfer or else he’s staying.

The story isn’t anywhere close to its final chapter, but we know that City are talking and Levy isn’t ready to listen just yet.