Harry Kane will stay at Spurs - is Cristiano Ronaldo next on Man City’s wish list?
Football’s transfer rumour mill has gone into overdrive
Harry Kane’s short-term future has been decided - he will be staying at Tottenham Hotspur this summer.
The England captain had been heavily linked with a move to Manchester City ahead of Tuesday’s 11pm transfer deadline, but in a post on social media today he confirmed that he will remain in north London.
City were keen to sign Kane, who believed he had a gentleman’s agreement with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to leave this summer, the BBC reported. However, Levy refused to enter into negotiations for the striker.
After making his first appearance of the season as a sub against Wolves at the weekend, Kane said he is now “100% focused” on Tottenham, where he has a contract until 2024. “It was incredible to see the reception from the Spurs fans on Sunday and to read some of the messages of support I’ve had in the last few weeks,” the 28-year-old said. “I will be staying at Tottenham this summer and will be 100% focused on helping the team achieve success.”
Is Ronaldo next on City’s wish list?
Even before Kane’s announcement on social media, today’s football transfer rumours had been “high on sugary drinks”, said Barry Glendenning in The Guardian.
Man City boss Pep Guardiola is looking to replace the club’s record goalscorer Sergio Aguero, who left for Barcelona, and one particular name has been mentioned.
According to French newspaper L’Equipe, Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo “sees himself at Manchester City” and is trying to engineer a move to the Premier League champions. Should the former Manchester United man swap Italy for England it would certainly be a “complex case”.
The 36-year-old Portugal skipper is in the final year of his contract at Juve and is making no secret of his desire to leave the club, Goal reported. City are prepared to pay Ronaldo’s salary but they are unwilling to pay a major transfer fee. A player-swap deal would be required and it’s suggested that Bernardo Silva and Aymeric Laporte could go the other way.
Although Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, is “flirting” with City, a deal is “very complicated business for several reasons”, from the economic issues to possible counterparts, Sky Sports Italy said. “This is why his future seems to be increasingly black and white.”
Real go on the attack for Mbappé
Paris Saint-Germain may have signed Lionel Messi in this summer’s blockbuster transfer but could they be about to lose one of their other star assets?
Real Madrid have made a £137m (€160m) bid to sign French striker Kylian Mbappé, who is out of contract at the Parc des Princes next summer and has so far refused to sign a new deal, Sky Sports reported.
Despite PSG rejecting the opening bid from the Spanish club, Real will “go on the attack”, said L’Equipe’s front page headline today. AS reports that French media believe Mbappé may be Madrid-bound and if Real return with an offer of €200m (£171.3m) PSG would consider the sale.
Meanwhile, another of Europe’s best strikers, Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Braut Haaland, is also in the headlines. The 21-year-old is being courted by a host of top clubs and German outlet Bild reports that Manchester United are in “pole position” to sign the Norwegian next summer.
