Spurs open to Kane U21 availability

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino believes Harry Kane’s performances with England have shown he is very much the real deal – and suggested the club would help the 30-goal striker play at the European Under-21 Championships in the summer if selected.

The 21-year-old Spurs frontman scored 79 seconds into his senior England debut against Lithuania at Wembley last Friday night, and then made his first start in the 1-1 friendly draw in Italy on Tuesday.

England manager Roy Hodgson wants Kane to continue his international development with the Under-21s this summer, after helping Gareth Southgate’s team qualify unbeaten for the June tournament in Portugal.

Spurs, meanwhile, are set for an end-of-season trip to Sydney for a match at the ANZ Stadium on May 30, which Kane would also be expected to be part of.

Pochettino, though, believes with the right discussions a positive solution for all parties can be found.

“It is a very good thing for him. I think that it is true that all which has happened was very quick, but in football the good times and the bad things can happen quickly, but it is real and he deserves the present and I am pleased for him,” said Pochettino.

“There are a lot of questions. I think that we have ahead eight very important (Barclays Premier League) games and we have time to speak about a lot of things that happen in the future. But why not?

“Harry Kane is our player and after if I decide he is in the squad to go to Sydney, it is our decision.

“But I think we have time to speak in the future about Sydney or the European (Under-21) competition.”

Pochettino continued: “We want to help the national team, the player and in this case, we always have a very good relationship.

“We need to share the decision. The first (consideration) is the player, the FA and us.

“There are a lot of things to discus with the FA, with Gareth Southgate, with us, but always we try to find the best for the player, and for the national team and what is logical for Tottenham.”

Despite all of the hype, Pochettino expects Kane to stay focused on the job in hand.

“Harry’s confidence is full now, but always in football you can improve. You need to put this idea in your head for always to move on,” he said.

“I think Harry is a very clever person. He has his feet on the ground and this is important because in football always it is difficult to keep your level, when you arrive at this level you have to keep working hard and to have the right mentality to improve.”

Spurs winger Andros Townsend scored England’s equaliser in Turin.

The 23-year-old, though, is no longer a regular starter for his club, leading to speculation of a summer move away from White Hart Lane.

Pochettino, though, insists Townsend is very much part of his future plans.

Asked if he needed to sit down to talk things over with the player, the Argentinian coach replied: “For what? he has a contract.

“(Any problems) with Andros? No.”

Tottenham head to Burnley on Sunday, when they will again be without injured goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Have something to tell us about this article? Let us know