Tottenham Hotspur’s record goalscorer Harry Kane is poised to leave the club soon, but the England captain’s departure would not affect the club’s preparations for the coming season, manager Ange Postecoglou said on Friday.
Kane was scheduled to go to Germany later today to finalize a 100 million euro ($109.78 million) agreement with Bayern Munich.
“I don’t have a blow-by-blow account of the whole thing, but my understanding is that it’s progressed to the point where it looks like it’s going to happen,” Postecoglou told reporters before his team’s Premier League encounter against Brentford on Sunday.
“That’s all the information I have at the moment, and from that standpoint, it gives us some clarity that unless something unexpected happens, we’ll move forward without Harry.”
Postecoglou stated that he was aware of the impending transaction and that “certainly with training today and preparing for Brentford, we’re doing it without Harry.”
“We’ve been planning for this, fair to say, for a while,” continued the Australian, who joined Spurs in June after the North Londoners placed ninth in the Premier League.
“A lot of our business up until now has been with that in mind, so this doesn’t change things dramatically from my perspective in terms of what we’re trying to build,” he added.
“Our entire plan has been based on the idea that Harry is unlikely to be present. So we haven’t had a pow-wow this morning, so what do we do? We were expecting it.”
Postecoglou stated that Tottenham still had a large squad and that there would be further movement.
“I believe some players will seek opportunities elsewhere, and there are still three or so weeks left in the transfer window. This is not due to Harry’s departure; it has always been the plan.”
The Australian paid tribute to Kane, saying his body of work spoke for itself.
“I’m only a newcomer to the block, mate.” I’m not a representative for this football club in the sense of announcing people’s status, but I believe Harry Kane will always be considered one of the greats.”
