‘Daniel Levy simply won’t bend’ – Crouch reacts to speculation about potential player exit

Peter Crouch has claimed that Harry Kane might not get a move away from Tottenham Hotspur this summer since he expects Daniel Levy will stick to his guns.

Previous reports have claimed that Kane is on the radar of the Premier League and Europe’s heavy hitters but Levy will not sell the striker to a domestic rival.

Sources claim that the Tottenham chairman values the 27-year-old at a whopping £175million.

Some journalists have suggested that Levy might soften his stance if a big bid comes along since Spurs still have the new stadium to pay for.

However, Crouch, who knows first hand how hard it can be to deal with Levy, believes that the 59-year-old will demand an ‘astronomical fee’ for the England captain.

When asked how tough Levy would make it for Kane to leave this summer, the former Tottenham striker said in the Ask Crouchie column in The Daily Mail: “We don’t always get what we want, Josh. I want to walk down the 18th at Augusta with a three-shot lead one day but I accept it’s not likely to happen. Harry Kane might want to play in the Champions League next season, but Daniel Levy simply won’t bend.

“I know how tough Daniel is when it comes to deals. When I was at Spurs, I’d never caused anyone a problem, I’d scored some important goals and I thought I was going to stay for a while — but everything changed when Stoke came up with a £10million bid.

“Daniel rang me and said he had accepted the offer. I told him I didn’t want to go. He replied: ‘If you stay, you won’t get a squad number next season.’ It was that blunt. We had an exchange of views about it but there was only one outcome on the horizon.

“People talk about Daniel’s reputation but let me put it like this: his one and only agenda is what is best for Tottenham. If I was ever in a position where I owned a football club, I would want Daniel running it because he puts the club’s interests above anything else.

“He doesn’t deal in sentiment and it won’t matter what Harry has done these last seven years. If he really wants to go, it won’t happen unless there is an astronomical fee involved — and that puts a cap on those who could afford him.”

Roy Keane said on Sunday that he believes Kane will fancy a switch to Olf Trafford this summer.

However, Crouch insisted that City are the only club with a realistic chance of getting the Tottenham star.

He added: “I also feel the circle of potential destinations will be further limited by his ambition to break Alan Shearer’s Premier League scoring record. Tottenham won’t do business with Chelsea, I doubt he’d get the trophies he wants at Manchester United, so that leaves only one domestic option: Manchester City.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Levy gets a lot of stick from some sections of the Tottenham fan base but I genuinely believe that the only reason we have been able to hold to some of our superstars like Kane for as long we have, is down to the reputation of the Spurs chairman. Clubs around the Premier League and Europe know that Levy is going to drive a hard bargain which puts them off from even making an approach for some of our key players.

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