Antonio Conte has admitted that he sympathises with what Harry Kane went through during the summer transfer window, insisting that a player of his quality deserves to be winning major trophies.
Kane was heavily linked with a move to Manchester City all summer but Daniel Levy held firm and managed to keep hold of the striker.
The 28-year-old did not have the best of starts to the season but he has found his goalscoring boots since the arrival of Conte, with the striker netting three goals in his last four Premier League matches.
There have even been reports over recent weeks suggesting that a new contract could soon be in the offing for the England captain.
Conte has now said that it is time to move on from what happened with Kane in the summer, admitting that the striker is now committed to the project at Tottenham.
The Spurs boss told The Evening Standard: “Yeah, I understand, I understand Harry’s situation. Because for sure when you finish your career and it is good, you can see your appearances and the team wherever you played. But at the same time, I think that it’s right also when you finish your career to see what you have won.
“And I think that this is important especially for players for top, top players. Because sometimes, important and top players finish their career with a couple of titles. And instead, other players who are medium or medium-low finish their career with many titles.
MORE SPURS STORIES
“I knew the situation in the summer and when Harry decided to stay in Tottenham I found a player totally involved in this project now.
“I am happy to have him in my team because for sure we are talking about the top player, a top striker in the world, and if we want to win or if we want to think to build something to win, Harry must be a point of start.
“He knows very well my opinion. But I repeat I’m very happy to work with him and I think that he has enjoyed the time, what we are building with the team and that is all.”
Conte also praised Levy’s decision to hold on to Kane, insisting that the striker is a leader in the dressing room.
He added: “In the summer I followed the situation about Harry and I saw what happened and what could happen. The club decided to keep Harry in the team and I think it was a great choice by the owner. In this way you are showing you want to try to continue to build something important around one of the best players in your team.
“I followed the situation but now it is not right to look at the past. Now we have to live in the present, which says that Harry is a player at Tottenham and continues to be one of the best players in this team.
“He wants to give 100 per cent in every game and I am totally satisfied with his commitment and the relationship that we have created within the team. He is a point of reference in the dressing room and an experienced player. I am totally enthusiastic about his involvement in the team and the Tottenham project.”
Conte also suggested that the Spurs hierarchy signaled their intent to compete for major honours by hiring him as their head coach.
“I think that for Tottenham to bring me here, [the club] wanted to send a signal [to the] outside,” Conte added. “And maybe also to our players. And now we’ll see what happens because after taking [on] the coach that is used to winning, then you have to do.”
Spurs Web Opinion
In hindsight, Levy’s resolve to keep Kane at the club proved to be an inspired decision as I doubt Conte would have joined Spurs if the striker had left.
The Spurs board were criticised for keeping Kane against his wishes instead of getting big money for him and reinvesting that into the squad.
However, looking back, it was a clear signal of intent from the club that they want to be competing with the best sides in the division.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
