Harry Kane speaks about his contract situation at Spurs, but doesn’t say much

Yesterday, we reported on news that Harry Kane is, perhaps surprisingly, open to signing a new contract at Tottenham Hotspur. Today, we heard it from the man himself.

One day after tying Spurs legend Jimmy Greaves at the top of Tottenham’s all-time goal scorer’s list, the Evening Standard released quotes from Kane confirming that he’s planning on engaging in talks to extend his stay at Tottenham past the 2023-24 season, but that his focus is still on achieving what he can with this current team, with the hopes of another top four finish.

“There’s not been much talk if I’m totally honest. I’m sure they’ll be conversations over the coming months but to be honest I’m just focused on this season and doing my best for the team. There’s still a lot to play for, trying to get in the Champions League, we have the FA Cup and the Champions League still to try to win. My focus is on that.

“I know there’s going to be rumors, a lot of talk and speculation about my future but I’m just focused on what I can do.

“Of course I still want to win trophies for Tottenham Hotspur. That’s been my goal since I started playing first-team football with them. It hasn’t happened. I’ve been open about [how I feel about] that but I’ll continue to try to achieve that. We have a really good squad, a fantastic manager and there’s no reason why we still can’t be successful this season. We’ve just got to put everything we can into it and see where we are come May.”

That’s not exactly a full-throated endorsement of Spurs, but it’s also very unsurprising that Kane would be keeping his options open. And honestly, it’s just good that he’s speaking openly about his contract and that staying at Spurs is a possibility — had he wanted out, he either would be staying quiet, or possibly scheduling another golf outing with Gary Neville.

Kane also spoke a little about his manager Antonio Conte, and the annus horribilis that Conte has been going through this season. Kane is clearly keen for Conte to stay past this season, but acknowledged that his gaffer is going through a tough time and that the players are there for him.

“I’m not going talk about the manager’s future. That’s down to him. I’m sure he’ll have conversations with the club and assess where we are as a team. He’s had a lot going on, on and off the pitch, so he probably needs time to assess it all. From my point of view, I really enjoy working with him and it would be fantastic if he did stay.

“It’s always tough [to see Conte suffering] because the manager is the leader and the boss, the one everyone looks up to. Of course we know he’s been going through a tough time outside of football and it’s not been helped by some of the results we’ve had either.

“As players we take responsibility for that. It’s about digging deep and sticking together. Through tough times you find out who you really are and the last couple of weeks have been difficult. But we bounced back last night with a good win and we’re going to need more of that if we’re going to be where we want to be at the end of the season.”

Spurs have a favorable FA Cup fourth round match at Preston North End this Saturday, and are hoping to turn that match and yesterday’s win over Fulham into an improved performance against defending champions Manchester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on November 5.