Troy Deeney admits he is ‘surprised’ Harry Kane stayed at Tottenham

Troy Deeney has admitted he is ‘surprised’ that Harry Kane revealed he will stay at Tottenham, and says he would not have criticised him for joining Manchester City. 

Kane brought an end to the longest transfer saga of the summer by pledging his future at Spurs this season, which also saw City’s interest in a £150m deal fall short.

And Watford striker Deeney, writing for The Sun, believes Kane was wary of tarnishing his legacy in north London by forcing through the big-money move. 

‘I was surprised by Harry Kane’s announcement he was staying at Tottenham,’ he said in his latest column.

‘I thought the way it was being handled at the start suggested he was going to go.

‘What that says to me is that valuations weren’t met and Kane wasn’t prepared to ruin his legacy to force a move, which is the right thing to do.

‘He hasn’t ruined any legacy by what he has done. The only way he would have done that is if he had ‘tried’ to move and then it didn’t materialise. 

Kane (left) enjoyed a scoring return for Spurs, having netted twice against Pacos de Ferreira

‘There has also been a lot of talk about Kane’s PR team and how they have gone about and handled this move – but they did nothing wrong in my eyes.’

Kane accepted he would be staying at Tottenham on Wednesday, confirming he will be ‘100 per cent focused on helping the team achieve success’.

This came despite him accusing Spurs chairman Daniel Levy of broken promises, and believing he would be allowed to leave if the team failed to win a trophy.

On Twitter, Kane said: ‘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.

Deeney also revealed he would not have criticised Kane for choosing to join Manchester City

‘I will be staying at Tottenham this summer and will be 100% focused on helping the team achieve success. #COYS.’

As revealed by Sportsmail, sources close to Kane have insisted he will continue to give his all at Spurs – but Deeney would not have begrudged him jumping ship. 

‘If he wanted to move to City, which we can all agree he did, then fair props to him,’ Deeney added.

‘They play the best football and pay the best money. Why would you not want to go there?

Kane accused Spurs of broken promises but is now ‘100 per cent’ focused on the club this year

‘But he is a Tottenham legend, even if he stopped playing today. He will always go down as a legend.

‘What we can all agree on is that a move to City would have been a step forward.

‘That’s no disrespect to Spurs. That’s just a fact of the matter of where they currently find themselves.’

Deeney also believes that Kane would have turned City from a contender for the Premier League title into ‘outright favourites’.