Nuno Espirito Santo has had a busy six weeks since being appointed as Tottenham’s new manager.
The Portuguese coach has seen the likes of Toby Alderweireld, Juan Foyth and Erik Lamela leave north London this summer, while young trio Bryan Gil, Pierluigi Gollini and Cristian Romero have all joined the Lilywhites in recent weeks.
However, the biggest talking point at the club is undoubtedly star striker Harry Kane, with his future in N17 shrouded in mystery despite having three years remaining on his current contract.
The 28-year-old was due back at the club’s Hotspur Way training ground last Monday but did not appear back in north London, with Kane categorically refuting on Friday that he had boycotted training.
“While I won’t go into the specifics of the situation, I want to clarify that I would never, and have never, refused to train”, he said in a statement on his Twitter page.
However, that hasn’t stopped the England captain being linked with a move to Manchester City, especially considering City boss Pep Guardiola admitted that he is interested in bringing Kane to the Etihad this summer.
Espirito Santo weighed in by stating that Kane is now back in training ahead of the Lilywhites’ Premier League opener against Guardiola’s City side on Sunday afternoon, a clash that will likely come too soon for the prolific frontman due to fitness reasons.
“Harry (Kane) is with us. He has to quarantine, he’s in the lodge but he’s training. He already made the first day with the sports science team. He’s with us.”
The former Wolves boss continued by sending a thinly-veiled dig to Guardiola after he was asked about Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez, a player that Spurs have been credited with an interest in this summer.
“I will not speak about any player. I will speak only about my players, Spurs players.”
football.london understands that Tottenham had agreed a fee with the Italian giants for Martinez earlier this week, although this was before Chelsea’s pursuit of the Argentine’s teammate, Romelu Lukaku, began to advance, something that could make Spurs’ pursuit of Martinez more difficult.
Martinez, who only has two years left on his current deal with the Nerazzurri, bagged an impressive 17 goals and six assists last term to help guide Inter to their first Serie A title since 2011.
He has also been linked with Spurs’ north London rivals, Arsenal.