Antonio Conte labels Bayern Munich counterpart's Harry Kane comments ‘disrespectful’
Julian Nagelsmann praised the England captain earlier on Saturday after being questioned on interest from the German giants
Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has insisted Harry Kane is going nowhere, and branded Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann’s comments about the England captain ‘disrespectful’.
Nagelsmann lauded Kane as ‘one of the best’ when asked about the 28-year-old as a potential replacement for Robert Lewandowski, before admitting it would be ‘tough’ to do a deal with Spurs.
Later on Saturday, Kane scored twice in a 2-1 friendly win over Rangers at Ibrox, and Conte responded to Nagelsmann’s comments after the game.
“Honestly I didn't hear this. For sure I'm a coach who doesn't talk about players from other teams,” Conte said (via Sky Sports).
"I don't know why [this happened]. The situation at Tottenham is very clear. The plan is very clear with the club. Harry is a part of the project. He is a very important part of the project and yeah, only rumours.
"At the same time, I don't like to speak about players from another club. If I want to do something I go to speak to the club, not through the media.
"I think maybe it's a bit disrespectful for the other club. This is my way. This is my way to face the situation with other players."
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Speculation of Bayern’s interest in Kane emerged after Lewandowski was sold to Barcelona last week, leaving the German champions in need of a new striker.
Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn told BILD recently that the Spurs skipper was a “dream of the future”, while Nagelsmann said the ‘problem’ was the he is ‘very expensive’.
Kane, who was heavily linked with a move to Manchester City last summer, has two years remaining on his contract with the north London club.
Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.