Harry Kane defends having his brother as his agent despite failed Tottenham exit

Many in football felt over the summer a more experienced agent could have pushed through a move away from Tottenham

Harry Kane pushed to leave Tottenham in the summer

(EPA)

Harry Kane has defended the decision to use his brother, Charlie, as an agent after failing to secure a move to Manchester City in the summer, but insists he is now ready to kick on this season, and that some of the early struggles were down to the after-effect of playing at Euro 2020.

The Tottenham Hotspur striker has only scored one goal in the Premier League this season, to go with a blank at home to Hungary, the first time in 15 qualifying matches that he had failed to score for England.

Such form has brought significant debate over whether the summer affected his mindset, a period which also saw criticism for Charlie Kane, as many in football felt a more experienced agent could have pushed through a move. Kane pushed back against this.

“In the summer, there was a lot of stuff about my brother, being my agent,” the 28-year-old said. “That’s where we stick together. I know what he does for me as an agent, I know what he does for me as a brother and that’s all that matters.

“The rest of it is just noise from our point of view. It’s just about us sticking together and whatever the circumstance, always being there for each other and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”

Kane refused to go into what actually happened in that week in August when he was fined by Spurs for returning to training late, but said that his drop-off in scoring has been down to the physical and emotional demands of going far in a tournament.

He did insist he is feeling like he is getting back to form, especially as Antonio Conte has restored an energy to Spurs since his appointment.

“That’s between me and the club. We've had discussions about it internally and that’s the way it will stay.

“It’s never easy. I came off the back of a tournament where you're physically tired, you're mentally tired and all of a sudden three weeks later the Premier League has pretty much starting and you’re just straight back into it. We've had to deal with that as players more and more so we've got a little bit more used to it but it's never easy. It's never easy just to switch that mode back on and start firing on all cylinders again. Your body needs time to respond physically and mentally.

“From a club-level point of view we’ve still got a long way to go. There's plenty of games to go. We have a new manager and that will bring a new energy to the team and to everyone personally. From an international point of view, it has been a great year and it’s trying to reflect on all the good things that we've done over. If we can finish these two games strong now that puts us through to the World Cup which we’ll be looking forward to. That's our main focus at the moment.”

“It is the first time I have gone more than three games in the Premier League without scoring for a long, long time. The consistency has always been there so times like this for me are just about staying focused. I always believe I can score at any moment at any time on the pitch and that is the way I will always be.

“With the new manager coming in at club level, that gives everyone a lift, it gives a new spark to the team so I’m looking forward to working with him and getting to know him. But overall, yeah, I feel like mentally I am in a good place and I'm really ready to go over this tough period in the winter.”

Kane meanwhile added his voice to calls for Gareth Southgate to stay with England after the 2022 World Cup.

“That is obviously between the manager and the FA and as players we would never put pressure on a manager to make a decision before then. Obviously we have a job to do in these two games and a job to do going into a big year next year. I don’t think it matters from a player’s point of view if it is decided then or not. I think I speak for a lot of players but personally I get on well with the manager - I think he has been great and his record at international level speaks for itself.

“And I still feel we are improving as a team. Semi-final in the World Cup, final in the Euros - we are heading in the right direction. Of course I would love him to stay but it will come down to him and the FA and his personal decision, I guess. We will see how that goes.”