Harry Kane is expected to take a day five Covid test in order to return to pre-season training with Tottenham this weekend as he starts a mandatory self-isolation period.
The wantaway striker has missed two consecutive days of pre-season training at the club’s Enfield training base as he looks to force through a move to Manchester City.
Kane was due to report for duty on Monday, but Sportsmail understands the England captain returned from a Caribbean break over the past 48 hours meaning he is required to complete a 10 day quarantine period because he has entered an Amber list destination.
Harry Kane could return to Tottenham for pre-season training by the weekend after his holiday
The Spurs star (right) has been in the Bahamas with his family but needs to isolate on his return (pictured: Kane with his two daughters Ivy and Vivienne on a separate holiday in July 2020)
However, Kane is due to take a day five ‘Test to Release’ Covid procedure that, provided he returns a negative result, means he can return to training by the end of the weekend.
Nevertheless, despite the England captain’s imminent return to training, Kane remains steadfast in his desire to leave Tottenham this summer.
Privately, Tottenham are said to be as determined than ever not to sell Kane this summer.
Tottenham are refusing to comment publicly on the saga that has overshadowed their pre-season preparations, while sources close to Kane feel the developments of the past two days have been blown out of proportion.
Manchester City is Kane’s preferred destination, but Chelsea and Manchester United also retain an interest in the England captain, and missing both sessions is a sign of his desperation to force through a transfer.
The 28-year-old has already communicated his wish to leave Spurs and is planning to reiterate that decision to the club in a meeting this week.
How those talks develop is likely to be the key to when Kane might return to training. The striker is also adamant he has a gentleman’s agreement that he can leave the club this summer.
Kane still has three years left on his deal and there are no clauses in that contract which improve his prospects of getting out of Spurs.
Despite Kane’s reputation as a model professional, Spurs have been prepared for him taking matters into his own hands, given his frustration at unsuccessfully trying to leave for at least the last 12 months.
Kane (left) must test negative in the ‘Test to Release’ scheme this week to return to Spurs (pictured: with his wife Katie on a separate holiday)
Kane failed to report for training again on Tuesday despite his summer rest coming to an end
Kane is hoping to put pressure on Daniel Levy (right) to allow him to leave Tottenham now
Manchester City will hope Kane agitating for a move may help lower his price tag but the feeling coming out of Tottenham was that Kane’s no-show had served only to entrench chairman Levy’s stance.
City have no plans to make an offer that matches the figure Levy may accept — understood to be in excess of £150million — and are reluctant to shell out much more than the £100m they have already proposed.
However, they are understood to have discussed restructuring the finances they have for the Kane deal by altering the wages on offer and/or the agent’s fee, in a bid to increase the amount they can put towards the transfer fee.
City came into this summer’s transfer window having earmarked a string of young, fringe players they were keen to offload to raise transfer funds.
But they are also trying to seal a £100m deal for Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish in addition to their move for Kane.
Sportsmail revealed on July 2 that Tottenham’s new manager Nuno Espirito Santo was told the club had no intention of selling Kane this summer – a decision that has clearly compelled the Spurs academy graduate to make his surprise move.
The striker is wanted by Manchester City, who are closing in on a £100m deal for Jack Grealish
Pep Guardiola is an admirer of Kane and the England striker could replace Sergio Aguero
Indeed, recent reports that Levy had made a U-turn and relented in his determination to keep Kane were dismissed by the club, being viewed as an unsuccessful tactic to force the issue.
Kane wants to join his England team-mate Grealish at the Etihad but could see his chances of a move hampered by Spurs’ demands.
Guardiola’s side want Kane and are looking for a replacement for Sergio Aguero but will have to raise money by selling fringe players to fund a move for Kane.
However, City have £45m from the sale of Leroy Sane to Bayern Munich last year and have already raised around £50m from the sale of players this summer.
More are due to be sold while there is an acceptance that the likes of Bernardo Silva could yet leave before the end of the window to further offset their spending.
New Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo has previously tried shut down talk of Kane leaving
But £150m could still prove to be too much for City to pay out, with Guardiola previously insisting the club could not afford such an outlay.
Kane put talks over his future on hold as he led England to the Euro 2020 final but is now stepping up his bid to move to the Premier League champions, two weeks before the start of the new campaign.
Should he force through a transfer, he could swiftly return to north London, with City facing Tottenham on the opening day of the season.
Kane is yet to win a trophy with his boyhood club despite his incredible goal-scoring record.
The striker has netted 221 times in 336 games and spoke of his desperation to win silverware in an interview Gary Neville in May.
‘I don’t know, I mean he (Levy) might want to sell me,’ Kane said in a conversation with his former England coach Neville for SkyBet’s The Overlap.
‘He might be thinking: ‘If I could get £100m for you, then why not?’ Do you know what I mean? I’m not going to be worth that for the next two or three years.’
Jack Grealish is close to a £100m move to City and Kane wants to join his England team-mate
When questioned about how he thought the difficult conversation with Levy would go, Kane was quick to praise the chairman and insisted they have always enjoyed a positive relationship.
‘I hope we have a good enough relationship,’ he added. ‘I’ve given the club… well, I’ve been there 16 years of my life. So, I hope that we can have a good, honest conversation and see where we are at in that aspect.’
Spurs boss Nuno tried to shut down talk of Kane leaving the club when he was announced as manager last month.
‘Harry is our player, period. No need to talk about anything else,’ the Portuguese coach said.
‘Harry is one of the best players in the world, that says it all. I have no doubts in my mind.
‘What I wish is for Harry to recover well, to have a good rest and when he arrives he will feel that every one of us has to commit ourselves to become better. We are very ambitious people and we want to do it well, and no doubts on Harry on that.’
Tottenham fans were outraged by Kane’s failure to show up at training on Monday, with many believing he should be fined for his actions.
One fan took to Twitter to write: ‘Fine him and stick him in the reserves. Absolute lack of professionalism. He’s happy to take the £200k per week the club pay him.’
Another wrote: ‘If this is true Harry Kane should lose the England captaincy. The England captain should always be a role model for young players. And to not show up for training for the club that’s paying you! And you have a contract with is so disrespectful and unprofessional. Shame on Kane.’
‘If Kane doesn’t turn up at all, he can go no one’s bigger than the club,’ another fan wrote. ‘I fully support it if Levy plays him in the u23s or sells him.’
Some supporters now believe it’s the time to move Kane on in an effort to rebuild the team.
‘Just sell him,’ one fan wrote. ‘This has already dragged on long enough. Anyone that doesn’t want to play for Tottenham can go, no one is bigger than this club’.
Referring to the possibility of a cash-plus-player deal with City, one fan wrote: ‘This is going to get messy. Take 120m and Laporte and move on. Lautaro Martinez, Damsgaard and Romero with the money.’
Another wrote: ‘Just sell him ffs before this turns nasty… absolutely no point in keeping a player who doesn’t want to be there.’
A further tweet read: ‘Sell him, take what we can to rebuild this team even if it’s a player + cash deal! This club has been toxic for the past 3 years I’m done with it, lets move on!’