Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has dropped a hint over transfer plans for Harry Kane amid the long-standing interest from Manchester United and Manchester City. Either side of his Euro 2020 exploits last summer, the England captain was priced out of a move to the Etihad Stadium.
In turn, Kane pledged his future to the north Londoners and, despite his early season struggles, has scored 22 goals in all competitions to propel their top-four charge. Tottenham are locked in a battle for Champions League qualification with Arsenal, United and West Ham.
Speculation over his future remains at fever pitch, meanwhile, as United emerge as contenders for his goalscoring services. However, according to Conte, the plan is for Tottenham to sign a new partner for Kane rather than letting him depart this summer.
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During his pre-match press conference, Conte was asked whether he would rather mark Kane or Argentina legend Diego Maradona. In response, the Tottenham manager shared an anecdote and with that outlined his own transfer ambitions for the upcoming window.
He said: "I will tell you one thing that is very curious. When I was playing with Lecce and [Zbigniew] Boniek was the manager, my role was No.4 to mark man to man the No.10. I was lucky, or maybe not lucky, to mark Maradona when Napoli played Lecce.
"We lost 3-2, but I did score my first goal in Serie A, when I was only 19 years old. It was the last season for Diego in Naples, but for sure this game is impressive in my mind because I marked him and I scored. I was very happy, despite the defeat."
Conte added: "They are two different players, honestly. Maradona was a No.10 and not a No.9. Harry, he was born a striker, however he's the talent and quality to play like a No.10 with another striker in front of him, but I like to have him as a striker and then eventually another No.10. Two different players with different characteristics."
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