Tag: Tottenham Hotspur

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HARRY KANE DECLARES INTENTION TO LEAVE TOTTENHAM

Harry Kane has told Tottenham he wants to leave the club this summer, sources say.

Sources said the England captain expressed his desire to move on during a face-to-face meeting with chairman Daniel Levy, and he would prefer to remain in the Premier League.

Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea have all lodged interest with Kane’s representatives, but it remains to be seen whether any club will offer the £150 million it will likely take to convince Spurs to sell.

Kane had repeatedly dropped hints about his frustration over a lack of silverware despite becoming one of the Premier League’s most prolific strikers, scoring 165 goals in 243 appearances to sit seventh on the all-time list.

However, he has yet to win a trophy with Tottenham or England. The club’s most recent setback came last month when Spurs lost the Carabao Cup Final to City 1-0 at Wembley.

Head coach Jose Mourinho was sacked six days before that game after a disappointing campaign in which they will miss out on Champions League qualification barring a mathematical miracle in the final week.

Despite this, Kane’s individual performances have remained strong. With 22 goals and 13 assists, only Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski (40) and Lionel Messi (39) have more goal involvements in Europe’s top five leagues in this season.

Kane has not handed in a transfer request and, significantly, he has three years remaining on his current £200,000-a-week contract.

Spurs are therefore in a strong negotiating position should Levy sanction his departure, but the chairman remains reluctant to lose the club’s prized asset, even for what would be one of the biggest transfer fees in history.

Sources said Kane is hopeful the situation can be resolved before the start of Euro 2020 on June 11, however, and that confidence could be based on unconfirmed reports suggesting he was keen to move on last summer but was convinced by Levy to give the club one more year in return for a softer stance at the end of this season should he still want to find a new club.

If Spurs are to grant their captain’s wish, they would prefer he go to a club abroad rather than strengthen a domestic rival, but Kane’s main suitors are all likely to be English.

Chelsea are in the market for a striker and would not be put off by the price tag given they hold an active interest in Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland, whose contract would command a similar fee.

Levy has a difficult relationship with Chelsea arising from previous transfers, however, which might therefore hand an advantage to United or City.

Fans have protested at the owners, ENIC, and Levy’s handling of the club in the wake of their involvement in the failed Super League project, and about 10,000 supporters will be able to attend their final home game against Aston Villa on Wednesday once coronavirus restrictions are lifted.

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TOTTENHAM TOPPLE WOLVES TO BOOST EUROPA LEAGUE HOPES

Tottenham strengthened their European qualification hopes with a 2-0 win over Wolves which moved them into the top six.

Harry Kane opened the scoring with a goal that advanced his chances of winning the Premier League Golden Boot and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg doubled the lead after the break.

It was Kane’s 22nd goal of the season, taking him back in front of Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in the race for a prize he has won twice before, while he also hit the post twice.

Spurs can still mathematically make the top four, but Europa League qualification is looking much more likely and a sixth-placed finish is in their own hands with two games to go.

Wolves’ campaign is petering out and this loss condemned them to a bottom-half finish for the first time since their return to the top flight.

Surprisingly, Kane had yet to score since one of his best mates Ryan Mason had taken temporary charge but he was on a mission to put that right from the off.

In the fifth minute he was cursing his luck again as he struck the post with an effort from distance. It was the eighth time he had been denied by the woodwork in the Premier League this term – more than any other player.

Still with something to play for, Spurs were the better side and Wolves’ goal was under regular threat.

Gareth Bale tested Rui Patricio with a wobbling free-kick from distance while Son Heung-min stung the Portugal goalkeeper’s palms with an attempt at the far post.

Kane then had a header cleared off the line by Conor Coady, who seconds later produced another heroic block from Giovani Lo Celso.

But Kane can only be kept at bay for so long and he struck in the 45th minute.

Hojbjerg’s pass set him clear and there was little doubt about the outcome – bar a VAR check for offside – as he expertly delayed his finish to fox Coady and Patricio before rolling into an empty net.

With Gareth Southgate watching, Dele Alli seemed determined to remind the England manager of his talents and it was a good piece of play that almost saw Spurs double their advantage.

He won back possession and then fed in Kane, who hit the woodwork for the ninth time as Patricio superbly tipped onto the upright.

That gave Alli the chance to get on the scoresheet as the rebound fell perfectly for him, but his first-time shot struck the other post.

Tottenham deserved their second goal, and it arrived in the 62nd minute.

Left-back Sergio Reguilon’s determination saw him win the ball high up the pitch, Son teed up Bale, whose first-time shot was parried by Patricio but Hojbjerg made no mistake from the rebound.

Wolves should have reduced their deficit soon after but the disappointing Fabio Silva dragged a shot wide from an inviting position while Adama Traore also shot wide after dancing into the area.

Spurs saw the game out safely as they prepare to welcome their fans back into their game with Aston Villa on Wednesday.

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LEEDS BEAT TOTTENHAM 3-1 TO DENT SPURS’ TOP FOUR HOPES

Goals from Stuart Dallas, Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo handed Leeds United a 3-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur that hit their opponents’ hopes of a top-four finish.

In an open contest, Leeds went ahead on 13 minutes, with Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris saving Sergio Reguilon from an own goal but being powerless to stop Dallas’s follow-up.

Son Heung-min levelled in the 25th minute when he converted from Dele Alli’s through-ball.

But Bamford’s first goal in six league matches put Leeds back in front before half-time as he tapped in from Ezgjan Alioski’s cross.

Spurs pushed for another equaliser but Illan Meslier denied Serge Aurier’s drive before Harry Kane’s free-kick hit the crossbar.

Leeds then made the points safe with six minutes remaining when substitutes Raphinha and Rodrigo combined to seal a first win in four matches that lifts Leeds to ninth with 50 points.

Spurs stay sixth on 56 points, five off Chelsea in fourth.

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JOSE MOURINHO IN NO RUSH TO RETURN FOOTBALL FOLLOWING TOTTENHAM SACKING

Jose Mourinho insisted he will “wait to be back in football” after being sacked by Tottenham on April 19.

The 58-year-old lost his job following a disappointing second half of the season where Spurs dropped from the top of the Premier League to outside the European places.

Mourinho left the north London club just six days before their Carabao Cup final at Wembley, which Manchester City won 1-0.

“I have no plans,” Mourinho told newsmen.

“I am going on with my normal life. I feel fresh. I feel calm. I am on holiday.

“I have more time to be doing my homework and analysis. I’ll wait to be back in football.

“Not just for the right club, but for the right culture. Maybe next season is premature, we will see.”

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TOTTENHAM TO HOLD MEETING WITH ERIK TEN HAAG WITH AJAX BOSS BEING NEXT SPURS TARGET

Ajax boss Erik ten Hag is open to the possibility of becoming Tottenham Hotspur’s new manager.

Spurs are still searching for a permanent candidate for the role, having dismissed Jose Mourinho last Monday.

It’s now understood that Ten Hag ranks highly on Tottenham’s manager shortlist and the club are keen to strike a deal with the 51-year-old.

According to sports journalist Fabrizio Romano, Spurs have scheduled a ‘direct meeting’ with Erik ten Hag and the Dutchman is open to leaving Ajax in the summer.

Ajax are on the verge of becoming league champions once again and require only a point at home to Emmen on Sunday to secure the Eredivisie title.

Ten Hag took charge of Ajax in December 2017, following previous spells with fellow Dutch sides Go Ahead Eagles and Utrecht.

He previously faced Tottenham in the 2019, suffering a devastating Champions League semi-final defeat courtesy of a Lucas Moura inspired second leg fightback.

Other potential candidates for the role have included Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers, Wolves head coach Nuno Espirito Santo, former RB Leipzig manager Ralf Rangnick and departing RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann.

Spurs had wanted Nagelsmann to replace Mourinho, but Bayern Munich recently agreed terms for the 33-year-old to become their new coach from July

Ryan Mason is currently in caretaker charge of Spurs until the end of the season.

As well as finding Mourinho’s long-term successor, another priority for chairman Daniel Levy is addressing Harry Kane’s future at the club.

The 27-year-old striker is under contract until June 2024 and has again reiterated his desire to win trophies as opposed to individual awards.

“Individual awards are great, they are fantastic achievements,” said Kane.

“When I look back at the end of my career, these are the things I will go over and take in more, but the goal right now as a player is to win team trophies. I want to be winning the biggest prizes there is to offer and we are not quite doing that.”

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LEICESTER BOSS, BRENDAN RODGERS RULES OUT MOVE TO TOTTENHAM

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers said he has no interest in leaving the Premier League club for the vacant job at Tottenham.

The former Liverpool and Celtic manager, 48, had been touted as a leading candidate to join Spurs after they sacked Jose Mourinho last week.

Leicester are third in the Premier League — on track to qualify for next season’s Champions League — while Spurs are five points off the top four after a disappointing season.

“Tottenham is a great club, one of the biggest clubs in Britain, but for me I’m just in a really, really happy place in my life,” Rodgers said, according to media reports.

“I have a huge respect here for the players, the board and I really feel that I want to continue my work here.

“I’m very, very happy here and I’m happy because I’ve got a set of players that give me their heart and soul every single day and also I can see a future here in terms of the development of the squad.”

The Northern Irishman, who joined Leicester in 2019, said he had a strong relationship with the board at the King Power Stadium.

“I think over the last couple of years what we’ve been able to do is build an infrastructure around behaviour and creating a mindset in order to win,” he said.

“That’s not easy and it’s taken us a couple of years but you see now the mentality around developing that will and desire to win.

“And now for the next period of years let’s see if we can roll that out now that we’ve created that mentality.”

German champions Bayern Munich announced this week B Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann, who had also been linked with the Tottenham job, would be joining them from next season.

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BAYERN MUNICH CONFIRM APPOINTMENT OF SPURS TARGET JULIAN NAGELSMANN AS NEW MANAGER

Bayern Munich have announced the appointment of 33-year-old Julian Nagelsmann as their new head coach on a five-year contract.

RB Leipzig boss Nagelsmann had been considered as a target for Tottenham Hotspur following last week’s sacking of Jose Mourinho, but the former Hoffenheim coach has opted to stay in Germany and move to the record 30-times Bundesliga title winners.

Bayern boss Hansi Flick, who won the Champions League last season, had asked to be released from his contract, and is expected to take over from Joachim Low as the new Germany boss after this summer’s European Championships.

Bayern said in a statement: “FC Bayern have appointed Julian Nagelsmann as their new head coach.

“The Bavarian-born 33-year-old will move to Munich from RB Leipzig on 1 July 2021 ahead of the new season, signing a five-year-contract with the German record champions until 30 June 2026.

“This comes after FC Bayern agreed to current head coach Hansi Flick’s request to have his contract terminated on 30 June 2021, two years earlier than its original expiry date.”

Nagelsmann had coached Leipzig for the past two seasons, and challenged Bayern in this season’s title race before the Bavarians pulled away at the top.

Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff said “After there had been a lot of movement over the past few days regarding the coaching position at FC Bayern Munich for the new season, Julian Nagelsmann approached us and told us in open discussions that it was a lifelong dream for him, FC Bayern coach and he would like to move to Munich if the opportunity arises after the end of this season.

“Julian took a fantastic path in Leipzig and developed our club very successfully. Not only did he make our players better, but he also took the team to the next level as a collective.”

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BLOW FOR SPURS AS MUNICH OPEN TALKS WITH NAGELSMANN

Tottenham have been dealt a blow in their hunt for a new manager, with the Independent reporting Bayern Munich have opened talks to hire RB Leipzig’s Julian Nagelsmann.

Spurs bosses had been said to have earmarked the 33-year-old as an ideal replacement for Jose Mourinho, but they may now need to turn their attention elsewhere.

Their solution may actually be closer to home, with Leicester’s Brendan Rodgers also being linked with the role.

The Daily Star, citing 90min, says Rodgers is high on Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy’s radar, but Leicester are believed to be willing to match or better any potential offer in order to keep the Northern Irishman at the King Power Stadium.

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SON, BALE HANDS MASON WINNING START AS SPURS RETURNS FOCUS TO THE PREMIER LEAGUE

Tottenham took the first steps of moving on from their European Super League shame as they began life after Jose Mourinho with a late 2-1 Premier League win over Southampton.

It has been a tumultuous 72 hours for Spurs as since they last played at Everton on Friday night they joined the ESL, sacked Mourinho, appointed 29-year-old Ryan Mason as interim head coach and then, after much derision, buckled under the weight of extreme resistance to the breakaway plans and quit.

After fans protested before the game against chairman Daniel Levy and owners ENIC, things did not look like they were going to get better in the wake of Mourinho’s exit as Danny Ings gave Southampton a first-half lead.

But Gareth Bale, back in the side after being frozen out under Mourinho, levelled and then minutes after VAR had ruled out a Son Heung-min goal, the decision-review system awarded Spurs a penalty at the death, which Son struck home.

It was just the tonic the beleaguered club needed going into Sunday’s Carabao Cup final and they move back into the top six, just two points off the top four.

It was also a fairy-tale evening for Mason, who joined Spurs as an eight-year-old and was cruelly forced to retire as a player aged just 26, beginning what could be a seven-game reign with a win.

Southampton, who lost in the FA Cup semi-final at the weekend, have not enjoyed life in the Premier League in 2021 and are still not out of relegation danger, sitting just six points above the drop zone.

The stadium announcer began his pre-match address by saying “it has been an intriguing few days” and that does not quite do it justice.

Fans were not going to let Spurs forget their part in the much derided breakaway plans and a number of them gathered outside the ground to protest.

Events off the pitch had provided distraction from just how dismal it has been for Spurs on it recently, but once the action got under way it was soon back front and centre of everyone’s minds.

Southampton arrived with just three Premier League wins this year but should have gone ahead inside the first five minutes as goalkeeper Hugo Lloris produced a fine double save.

First he did brilliantly to palm away Mohammed Salisu’s header and then recovered superbly to keep out Che Adams’ follow-up with his legs.

Mourinho may no longer be in the building but the same defensive problems exist and Saints took a deserved lead after 30 minutes.

Ings got in front of Serge Aurier from a corner and sent a glancing header in off a post for his 12th goal of the season.

Mason had vowed to send his side out to be brave and aggressive, but, robbed of star man Harry Kane, it was a lifeless performance in the opening 45 minutes.

However, they should have gone in level at half-time as Lucas Moura missed a great chance as he blazed over at the far post.

It did not take much, but there was a big improvement after the break and Bale was at the forefront of it.

A lovely flick teed-up Son, whose shot was blocked, and then a trademark swerving effort from distance tested the handling of Saints goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.

The deserved equaliser came on the hour and it was a moment of class from Bale.

Tottenham’s best move of the game saw Tanguy Ndombele, Son and Moura combine, with the latter’s blocked shot falling to the Welshman at the far post and he sent a delicious curling effort in off the far post.

Spurs thought they had scored the winner 16 minutes from time with what looked like a lovely goal.

Giovani Lo Celso played in Sergio Reguilon, whose pull-back to Son was arrowed into the bottom corner. However, VAR spotted Moura in an offside position in McCarthy’s line of sight, even though the goalkeeper had no chance of saving it.

But VAR paid them back in the 89th minute as, after a free-kick was initially awarded by referee David Coote for a foul by Moussa Djenepo, replays showed it took place on the line of the 18-yard box and was ruled as a penalty.

Son stepped up to strike home the spot-kick and give Spurs fresh impetus.

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MAURIZIO SARRI LINKED TO TOTTEHAM MANAGER ROLE

Maurizio Sarri, the former Chelsea manager who most recently was at Juventus, has been linked with the vacant hot seat at Tottenham, reports the Daily Mail.

The paper says Spurs have been in touch with the Italian to offer the job from the start of next season.

It comes after Jose Mourinho was sacked this week, with the Portuguese said to be in the running to be named Celtic manager, according to the Sun. The Scottish side have been without a manager since Neil Lennon resigned in February.