England manager Gareth Southgate does not expect any possible transfer of Tottenham striker Harry Kane to happen during the European Championship.
Kane is reported to have told Spurs he wants to leave this summer and was keen for his future to be sorted before the tournament begins in a couple of weeks.
That always looked unlikely, not least because Tottenham will not let their star man, who is under contract for another three years, go without a fight, but also because of the short timeframe.
The timing of the leak from Kane’s camp over his desire to leave his boyhood club was surprising given it will almost certainly drag on over the summer and possibly provide a distraction to the Three Lions’ campaign.
Southgate has no question marks over Kane’s focus for the tournament, but does not think any possible transfer will happen until it has finished.
The England boss said: “I don’t feel I need to talk to Harry Kane regarding focus or professionalism. He has one goal with us and that’s to win the European Championship.
“He knows how important that is at this moment in time. What’s happening at his club is a matter for him and Tottenham. He’s made some statements in the last few days, but that is out of the way now.
“It’s very unlikely that transfer deals will be done while we are away. It’s different when we meet up in September and I’m very realistic that you can’t stop phones ringing, but most deals will be done at the end of the tournament or in the first week before it starts.
“I would expect most deals in terms of our players to be done after the tournament.”
Ahead of naming his final #EURO2020 squad next week, Gareth Southgate has selected 33 players to join up with the #ThreeLions from this weekend as our preparations for this summer's tournament get under way.— England (@England) May 25, 2021
Kane’s Tottenham team-mate Eric Dier was left out of Southgate’s provisional 33-man squad after a difficult season for his club.
Dier, who was a hero of the 2018 World Cup, started the season as one of Southgate’s first choice centre-backs, but a string of errors have cost him, with a horror show in a 3-1 defeat at Leeds where Southgate was watching sealing his fate.
Southgate said: “He is a man I have tremendous respect for. He has been, as you rightly identified, a key player in some of our biggest moments.
“Unfortunately I don’t think his season has been strong enough to be in the squad. That’s difficult because I know how much he brings to the group.
“Those players who put the team first are critical. That wasn’t an easy conversation, but he’s an outstanding professional and he took the news in a professional way.”
‘I don’t think Liverpool would look at Ollie Watkins, a striker isn’t a pressing issue for them – it’s Arsenal who need one’ Former Reds star explains why his old club don’t need an out-and-out forward this summer
‘He’ll still be playing at 40 at a good level because he’s in such good shape and looks after himself so well. He does everything to be a top professional’: Ex-Liverpool coach insists Mohamed Salah has plenty more miles in the tank
