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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Alex Young

Why Harry Kane is not playing for Tottenham against Barcelona

Tottenham conclude their pre-season with a friendly against Barcelona tonight in the annual Joan Gamper Trophy match, but Harry Kane is not in the squad.

It is the fourth match of Spurs’ off-season, which started with a defeat to West Ham in Singapore and most recently saw Shakhtar Donetsk beaten 5-1 in north London as Kane scored four goals.

Kane’s future has been the subject of intense speculation all summer, with Bayern Munich failing with three bids for the striker - the most recent of which totalled £86million.

Standard Sport understands Kane is now planning for life at Tottenham for the upcoming season, having set him and the transfer a deadline to complete before Sunday’s Premier League opener against Brentford.

(PA)

But Kane is not tonight at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium as Ange Postecoglou casts an eye over his players for the final time before their trip to west London. Richarlison and Manor Solomon start in forward areas, with Heung-min Son on the bench.

With Kane playing 80 minutes against Shakhtar on Sunday, the quick turnaround means the captain has been allowed to stay at Hotspur Way and give others the opportunity to impress and work on their fitness.

New signings Micky van de Ven and Alejo Veliz also sit out the friendly, as they await work permits.

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