Gus Poyet does not believe that Harry Kane will leave Tottenham Hotspur this summer despite the attention of Bayern Munich.
The England captain, who is due to return to pre-season training at Hotspur Way this week, is being chased by Bayern Munich and the German side have now made an €80million (£68.3million) bid for him, which also includes add-ons on top. Media in German were not expecting the bid to be accepted, particularly as they claim Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was livid at reports over there that Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel had held talks with Kane at his home and that the striker has agreed terms in principle with the Bundesliga outfit.
football.london reported this week that the north London club have offered their all-time top goalscorer, who turns 30 this month, the opportunity to discuss a huge new contract in order to stay beyond his current deal which ends in 2024. The player is believed to be in no rush though to commit to a new deal during this transfer window while he assesses what the future holds.
Poyet, who played 98 times for Spurs and scored 23 goals, before returning to the club as an assistant manager to Juande Ramos does not believe that Kane will leave this summer.
"Based on previous experience, I would say Harry Kane will still be at Tottenham next season. Two years ago I thought he was going to Manchester City. I was not even 99% sure, I was 100% sure, and then he stayed," he told 888sport. "If I was Harry Kane I would stay in the Premier League rather than going to Bayern Munich.
"It will be a massive decision for Tottenham, for Harry, and for everyone involved, and of course, as the coach, Ange Postecoglou would like him to stay. There have been so many rumours and so many things happening over the past two or three years so I can’t say for sure what is going to happen. I think the only person who really knows is Harry Kane."
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Poyet believes that new Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou's job would only be made harder by the absence of Kane.
“I think the next 12 months will be hard for Ange Postecoglou. It will be even harder if Harry Kane leaves," he said. "As a coach it’s hard when you get to the club and you have a lot of energy and then they tell you that Harry Kane might leave and you think, ‘oh, thank you, but maybe you could have told me before I signed the contract!’.
"I don’t know how Postecoglou’s finished squad is going to look and how Spurs do next season will depend on the players that they keep and the players that they bring in. There have been so many transfer rumours recently and I’m sure that in the next few days Postecoglou will have his say on those decisions.
"For example, we don’t know how long Rodrigo Bentancur is going to be out for and it’s things like that that can affect your season. Tottenham’s inconsistencies have been because of things like that. It wasn’t about the quality of their players, it was about the inconsistency – in one game everybody looked up for it and the next week it looked like a totally different group of players. For me, this season is about consistency."
Poyet has been impressed by Tottenham's signing of James Maddison but he admits that it is the defence that must improve if the new Australian head coach is to succeed.
"I think the James Maddison signing is very interesting and it will be important to see if he can adapt. Last season Tottenham didn’t play with a proper number 10, and they played with three in attack, so it will be interesting to see how he adapts to the middle of the pitch," he said.
"If they play with two wingers and a striker, for instance with Son Heung-min or Richarlison, Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevski, along with Maddison, then the two behind them in midfield have to be two animals because they will need to run all game and defend for everyone, and the back four will have to be outstanding.
"The system will be very important, and I don’t know if they will play with four or five at the back. In terms of quality, Maddison will bring plenty and I think it’s time for him to make the step up to being a consistent and important player in an important team.
"Next season, if Tottenham play with a back four I would like to be able to know the back four for certain every week, with no questions over any of the positions. When you know your back four for certain that is when you are at your best because you’re solid. The rest of the team are the ones taking the headlines, but the base of the team is the goalkeeper and the back four, and I want to see Tottenham be solid there."
