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    I stopped Tottenham supremo Daniel Levy selling Harry Kane to Leicester for £600,000

    TIM SHERWOOD has claimed that he stopped Tottenham from selling Harry Kane to Leicester City – for just £600,000.Kane has become the club’s record goalscorer, with 271 goals for the North London side.
    Leicester City offered £600,000 to sign Harry Kane in 2014Credit: Action Images – Reuters
    However, manager at the time Tim Sherwood argued against the moveCredit: PA:Empics Sport
    But before he became a legend at Spurs, Kane struggled with loan spells with Norwich City, Millwall, Leyton Orient and the Foxes.
    That was until the closing stages of the 2013/14 season, when former manager Sherwood handed him his first start in the Premier League for Spurs.
    He told talkSPORT: “Daniel (Levy) asked me what the team was (for Sunderland).
    “So I wasted my time telling him what the back four and the midfield was and as soon as I get to Harry, he was asking me ‘why certain more experienced players are not playing in front of Harry.
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    “I said because he has earned the right to play.”
    Sherwood picked the now-England star ahead of the likes of Roberto Soldado, Jermain Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor.
    He added: “It was just a case of the boy had earned the right and I always judged everyone on a level playing field, and if I feel like they are producing in training, then they deserve the opportunity and Harry certainly did that.
    “So it was a tough conversation because when Daniel looked at me and he trusted my judgement on players.”
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    But the club had received an offer to buy Kane from Leicester City, and there was a consideration to accept the deal until Sherwood intervened.
    He said: “But he (Levy) was possibly being told by someone else this player possibly was not good enough for the Premier League.
    “And at the time, Tottenham wanted to buy players not only for the Premier League but for the Champions League.
    “So it was obviously Franco Baldini getting into his ear and that he wasn’t good enough and they had a bid lined up from Leicester to sell him for £600,000.
    “I resisted it, obviously. There was no way he was going to go for that. in my opinion, he would have eaten £600,000 worth of food since he’s been ten years of age at the club.
    “So it was absolute nonsense to let him go for that.
    “I don’t know if Daniel was prepared (to accept the deal), but he put it to me with Franco Baldini sitting there, that it was on the table.
    “And in the end, Daniel had to take the trust of someone and the trust came from Harry getting into the team the next day and subsequently scoring three in three games.
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    “And I think he realised that either the price tag has got to go up or this boy might be good enough for Tottenham’s first team.”
    Kane netted on his debut in Spurs’ 5-1 win over Sunderland before also scoring against West Brom and Fulham. More

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    Jack Grealish was offered to Tottenham aged 16 in swap transfer but Harry Redknapp said no

    TOTTENHAM rejected the chance to sign Jack Grealish when he was a teenager, according to Tim Sherwood.The pundit was Spurs manager between 2013-2014 and prior to that he worked as Under-21 boss under Harry Redknapp.
    Tim Sherwood told Tottenham to sign Jack Grealish when he was only 18Credit: Getty
    Sherwood was won over by the winger after watching him play just onceCredit: AFP
    And in that role he first got a glimpse of Grealish and was left dazzled by the then Aston Villa wonderkid.
    He advised Redknapp to try and make a move for the England star, suggesting a swap deal that would have seen Jermaine Jenas join Villa.
    Recalling the story on talkSPORT, Sherwood said: “I watched him when he was 16 against Tottenham’s Under-18s.
    “I remember going back to the first-team game at White Hart Lane and Redknapp said, ‘Well, what was the score?’
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    “I said, ‘I don’t know H, all I was doing was watch this boy Grealish’.
    “It was incredible. I said, ‘[Villa] want to take Jermaine Jenas, we should do a swap for this boy.’
    “Harry, quite rightly, said, ‘He’s only 16, by the time he’s in the first-team I’ll be gone’. As a football manager he’s absolutely right, looking after yourself as you would do.
    “But for the club it would’ve been a great move. It would’ve been a great move for Jermaine as he ended up going to Villa [on loan] anyway.”
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    Spurs did remain interested in Grealish and tried to sign him a few years later in 2018 but failed in their £20million bid for the winger.
    They pursued him again in 2019 but were unwilling to match Villa’s £35m asking price. More

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    Man Utd in huge Harry Kane transfer boost as Tottenham line up Dean Henderson to replace Hugo Lloris

    MANCHESTER UNITED could be boosted in their Harry Kane pursuit by Tottenham’s interest in Dean Henderson, according to reports.Spurs are believed to be eyeing a long-term successor for Huge Lloris, 36.
    Tottenham are interested in signing Dean HendersonCredit: Reuters
    Manchester United’s pursuit of Kane could be boosted by Spurs’ interest in the keeperCredit: Getty
    They were said to be interested in England No1 Jordan Pickford but he penned a new long-term deal with Everton in February.
    Tottenham have targeted Henderson as an alternative this summer if United are willing to let him leave, report ESPN.
    And the report adds Red Devils chiefs could use that to their advantage in negotiations over Kane.
    Kane is believed to be Erik ten Hag’s no1 target this summer but United fear nightmare negotiations with Spurs chief Daniel Levy.
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    The striker is understood to have an asking price of £100million but there is concern shrewd negotiator Levy could drag on talks until late in the window.
    However, Spurs’ interest in Henderson could encourage Levy to be more open to talks involving Kane.
    The shot-stopper could also be keen on a move to North London after joining Nottingham Forest on loan to get more first-team football this season.
    He has impressed at the City Ground and had become a vital member of the Forest’s progress before he picked up a muscular injury.
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    Henderson is expected to make a permanent move away from Old Trafford at the end of the season.
    United are also said to be on the lookout for a new keeper and like the look of Brentford star David Raya, who has also been linked to Chelsea. More

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    Hojbjerg becomes first Tottenham star to publicly respond to Conte’s explosive rant about ‘selfish’ players

    PIERRE-EMILE HOJBJERG has become the first Tottenham player to speak out following Antonio Conte’s public dressing down of the Spurs squad.Following the club’s capitulation at Southampton, where they led 3-1 but drew the match, Conte blasted his players’ performance as “selfish”.
    Pierre-Emile Hojberg was the first player to publicly respond Antonio Conte’s rantCredit: EPA
    Hojberg defended the Italian despite him labelling Spurs players as ‘selfish’Credit: PA
    The irate Italian said: “They don’t play for something important. They don’t want to play under pressure, they don’t want to play under stress.
    “It is easy this way. Tottenham’s story is this. For 20 years there is the owner but they never won something but why?
    “The fault is only for the club, or for every manager that stays here? I have seen the managers that Tottenham had on the bench.
    “Until now I try to hide the situation but not now because, I repeat, I don’t want to see what I have seen today because this is unacceptable and also unacceptable for the fans.”
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    SunSport understands the rant left some stars stunned, with some members of the squad calling for Conte to be sacked now.
    However, Hojbjerg, 27, came out in defence of his manager, telling reporters in his native Denmark: “We’ve all seen it. [It was a] very honest and very open press conference he gave.
    “It is because he is not satisfied. You don’t do that if you’ve reached the quarter-final of the Champions League and if you’re in the semi-final of the FA Cup.
    “It comes from the fact that, unfortunately, we did not get the results we as a team and club wanted. We are still where we want and need to be in the Premier League. But yes, it’s hard, I should say.
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    “I understand that if you want to be successful as a team, you need 11 men who are committed to a project and a culture.
    “But I think he has to elaborate on how he feels before you as a player can start measuring and weighing.
    “The coach has not been satisfied, and that is what I will take with me. You do what you can to please him.
    “What I do know about myself is that I am an honest player. I am a player who always gives 100 per cent of myself for the team.”
    The 3-3 draw saw Spurs give up the chance to leapfrog Manchester United into third place.
    Conte’s rant also saw him take aim at the club’s hierarchy, adding to reports he will be sacked later this week.
    Asked about Conte’s future, Hojbjerg said: “Fortunately, I am not the one to judge it.
    “If that’s how he sees it, then you have to be a little more precise in order for you as a player to take it to heart.”
    He later added: “He didn’t tell us what he wanted to say at the press conference.
    “But it is clear that you work with each other every day, you want the best for each other and you want to be successful together. And sometimes the waves go high in football.”
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    A number of coaches have been linked with the Spurs gig, including fan favourite Mauricio Pochettino and Eintracht Frankfurt boss Oliver Glasner.
    However, this is set to see Spurs reportedly fork out a staggering £15million severance package. More

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    Tottenham stars ‘in contact with Mauricio Pochettino about return as manager’ with Antonio Conte to be sacked in DAYS

    TOTTENHAM players have reportedly been in contract with former manager Mauricio Pochettino about a return to the club.Pochettino has been out of a job since leaving PSG in June 2022.
    Antonio is facing the sack at Spurs after his comments following the draw against SouthamptonCredit: Reuters
    Players have reportedly been talking to former boss Mauricio Pochettino about a return to the clubCredit: Getty
    Current Spurs boss Antonio Conte is on the edge of being sacked after his scathing rant following the team’s 3-3 draw against Southampton.
    And according to Sky Sports, the club’s players have been in contact with Pochettino about a return to the club.
    It is believed that the Argentine would take the job if he was offered a return to North London.
    Pochettino is thought to have “remained on good terms” with chairman Daniel Levy.
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    The report also suggests that the manager has turned down roles in the last eight months.
    The club’s fans have made their wishes known as they chanted the former manager’s name after Spurs were knocked out of the Champions League by AC Milan.
    A video posted on social media showed them singing: “He’s magic, you know, Mauricio Pochettino.”
    The 51-year-old was sacked by Spurs in 2019 after a five-year spell at the club and replaced by Jose Mourinho.
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    Despite not winning a trophy for Spurs, he guided the club to four consecutive Champions League finishes in his previous spell in charge of the club.
    Prior to his arrival, Spurs had finished in the top four in just two of their previous 22 seasons in the Premier League.
    He also took the club to the Champions League final in 2019, but Liverpool prevailed as they won 2-0.

    After replacing Tim Sherwood in 2014, Poch took charge of 293 games, winning 159, losing 72 and drawing on 62 occasions.
    Spurs could make several changes to their team this summer if Pochettino returns.
    Pochettino would likely want to sign players that would suit his 4-2-3-1 formation, which he used in his previous spell at the club. More

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    Tottenham ‘to be forced to pay out STAGGERING severance package’ to Antonio Conte with boss set to be axed this week

    TOTTENHAM may have to pay Antonio Conte £15MILLION if they sack him before the end of the season, according to reports.News emerged on Monday evening that Spurs are preparing to dismiss the Italian, 53, later this week.
    Antonio Conte is reportedly set to be sacked this weekCredit: Getty
    It comes after Conte’s astonishing outburst on Saturday – which followed his side relinquishing a 3-1 lead to draw 3-3 with lowly Southampton.
    According to 90Min, there is a clause in the manager’s contract that means he must be paid £15m – the sum of his yearly salary – if he were to be sacked before the end of his deal.
    Conte’s contract expires at the end of June.
    Even if Spurs are able to get away with paying him his salary up to the end of the season, that will still mean a £4m pay-off.
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    This makes it an extortionately expensive decision for Tottenham if they do decide to axe him before the campaign’s conclusion.
    Conte has previous for securing lucrative severance payments.
    When he was sacked by Chelsea, he ended up being awarded £26.6m for unfair dismissal after taking the case to a tribunal.
    The Lilywhites will be desperate to avoid a similar scenario.
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    Spurs sit fourth in the Premier League table but have played more games than Newcastle, Liverpool and Brighton below them.
    Meanwhile, their wait for silverware has extended to more than 15 years after they were knocked out in the last-16 of the FA Cup by Sheffield United and last-16 of the Champions League by AC Milan.
    After the draw with Saints, Conte exploded with rage in his post-match press conference, saying: “They [the players] don’t play for something important.
    “They don’t want to play under pressure, they don’t want to play under stress.
    “It is easy this way. Tottenham’s story is this.

    “For 20 years there is the owner but they never won something but why?
    “The fault is only for the club, or for every manager that stays here?
    “I have seen the managers that Tottenham had on the bench.
    “Until now I try to hide the situation but not now because, I repeat, I don’t want to see what I have seen today because this is unacceptable and also un- acceptable for the fans.” More

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    Harry Kane on Real Madrid’s two-man striker wishlist as they target Tottenham star as stop-gap transfer

    HARRY KANE is reportedly one of TWO strikers on Real Madrid’s shortlist as they seek to secure a temporary replacement for Karim Benzema.The European champions’ long-term plan is to secure Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe.
    Harry Kane is being linked with a summer move away from boyhood club TottenhamCredit: Reuters
    Dusan Vlahovic could be set to leave Juventus at the end of the seasonCredit: Getty
    However, they are aware neither of them are set to become available until at least 2024.
    As a result, Carlo Ancelotti’s men are looking for someone to lead the line in the meantime.
    According to AS, Spurs talisman Kane, 29, is a leading candidate to assume that role.
    Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic, 23, who has scored 20 goals in 49 games for the Italian giants, is the other man being considered by Los Blancos.
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    There is also the possibility of 18-year-old Alvaro Rodriguez being thrown into the side when he joins the squad in the summer.
    But Kane, who is Tottenham’s all-time top scorer with 271 goals 425 games, would provide Real Madrid with a proven threat in front of goal.

    And he could be available at the end of the season as he prepares to enter the final 12 months of his Spurs deal.
    However, any move for Kane – who is also attracting interest from Manchester United – would reportedly have to coincide with Real refusing to extend Benzema’s deal.
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    The Frenchman, 35, who joined Real in 2009, is out of contract in 2024.
    He bagged 44 goals in 46 games last season, helping them win LaLiga and the Champions League – before he scooped the Ballon d’Or.
    And while he has not maintained the same ratio of goals this term, he has still netted 19 times in 29 games.
    During his 14-year stint in the Spanish capital, he has racked up 342 goals in 634 games.
    Karim Benzema is Real Madrid’s second all-time top scorer behind Cristiano RonaldoCredit: Alamy More

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    Antonio Conte’s epic rant was a new low for under-fire Tottenham boss – so why the hell take the job in the first place?

    WITH every rant, every slur and every Spursy capitulation, we always return to the same old question: “Why the hell did Antonio Conte take this job in the first place?”Conte had snubbed Tottenham in the summer of 2021, when they staged their farcical 72-day search for Jose Mourinho’s replacement and ended up with poor old Nuno ‘Dispirito’ Santo.
    Antonio Conte unleashed an epic rant after Saturday’s draw with SouthamptonCredit: Getty
    Some well-informed sources believe the turbulent Italian accepted the job at the second time of asking in a fit of frustration after being overlooked by Manchester United during the dog days of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reign.
    Others come up with the more obvious answer that £15million is one hell of a salary to turn down.
    And it is certainly a significant sum to trouser when you consistently react to setbacks by passing the buck to the dressing room and boardroom.
    Imagine earning that much money, yet still feeling free to slaughter your employers and subordinates every time you mess up. Nice work if you can get it.
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    Conte has made it pretty damned clear throughout his 16-month reign that he believes he is slumming it at Spurs.
    But Saturday’s epic tantrum, after his side tossed away a two-goal lead at bottom-club Southampton, plunged new depths in disrespect, as he called out Daniel Levy’s record over 20 years as chairman and branded his players “selfish”.
    Sure, Conte was a title-winner in his three previous club jobs at Juventus, Chelsea and Inter Milan.
    But he must surely have known he was never likely to achieve the same feat at Spurs, the seventh richest club in England.
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    To paraphrase Sir Alex Ferguson’s briefest and greatest team talk: ‘Lad, it’s Tottenham’.
    For the record, though, Spurs did reach the Champions League final four years ago.
    Conte has managed only one quarter-final in six attempts with four different clubs.
    So, perhaps his arrogance should know some bounds.
    Conte’s sneering tone began early on, when he frequently demanded a squad to match Tottenham’s world-class stadium and training ground, as if Levy had somehow got it wrong by building outstanding infrastructure for his club.
    Spurs have recruited well since Conte arrived in November 2021.Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski were excellent signings in January last year, playing significant parts in Spurs qualifying for this season’s Champions League.
    And last summer’s window was as good as Conte, or anyone else, could have reasonably expected.
    They bought quality and experience and, unusually for Levy, they bought early.
    Yet Conte wants no responsibility for the fact players with the impressive pedigree of Richarlison, Ivan Perisic, Yves Bissouma and Clement Lenglet have all bombed.
    Daniel Levy is reportedly ready to get rid of Conte this weekCredit: PA
    Under Conte, Spurs are often a desperately dull and predictable watch, as exemplified when they blew excellent chances of progress in two knockout competitions.
    Defeats by Sheffield United in the FA Cup and AC Milan in the Champions League seemed entirely avoidable.
    Harry Kane was benched for the trip to Bramall Lane. Had Spurs won there, they would have enjoyed a quarter-final at home to Blackburn and might be looking forward to a Wembley semi-final against a Manchester City side they have  regularly beaten in recent seasons.
    Against AC Milan, Spurs were passive and overly cautious when chasing a 1-0 first-leg deficit.
    Had they won, they would be facing an inviting half of the draw with Napoli, Inter and Benfica.
    Another Champions League final appearance might well have been on the cards.
    It’s difficult to say exactly which Spurs players Conte regards as “selfish”. A lot of them aren’t playing very well, some simply aren’t good enough. But “selfish”?
    The only obvious recent example of selfishness was Cristian Romero being sent off for two reckless challenges against Milan.
    Poor performances against Sheffield United, Wolves, AC Milan and Southampton has left Spurs’ season stumbling towards an unsatisfactory conclusionCredit: Getty
    And Conte seemed to give his Argentinian World Cup winner a free pass by accusing his team of being “too soft” in the aftermath of that Champions League exit.
    Conte is a demanding manager capable of short-term success.
    But he is also a tiresome bore, who even accused Roman Abramovich of not spending enough money during his prolonged second-season meltdown at Chelsea.
    Now he clearly wants out of Spurs and many players will bid him good riddance. We should not forget Conte has suffered bereavements and a serious bout of ill health this season.
    He probably needs a rest, physically and mentally.
    Although, as author Adam Powley put it so brilliantly on Twitter: “Conte is the only man in medical history to have his gallbladder removed yet be able to store up more bile.”
    Conte for Spurs was a marriage of inconvenience for both parties and divorce is long overdue.
    Spurs must now rebuild under an ambitious, upwardly mobile boss. And certainly not one who suggests he is doing them some sort of favour by picking up his vast salary.
    Gareth’s mo-role support
    So are England players role models or not?
    Gareth Southgate happily lauds his men as such when they take admirable stands for social justice, but he wasn’t so big on the whole ‘setting an example’ thing when he named Ivan Toney and Kyle Walker in his squad to face Italy and Ukraine.
    Toney has admitted to many of the 262 breaches of FA betting rules he has been charged  with, while Walker was dealt with by a police ‘out-of-court disposal’ after an alleged incident of indecent exposure.
    The England chief says he is ‘no moral judge’. In truth, he is more than willing to be a moral judge when England players behave morally, just not when they’re gambling and flashing.
    Shabby Palace
    Crystal Palace always seemed like one of the last bastions of down-to-Earth old-school decency in the Premier League.
    Yet for a man as great as Patrick Vieira to have been dismissed over the phone — two days before a trip to his beloved Arsenal and with a kindly run of fixtures up next for the Eagles — was one of the shabbiest sackings English football has known.
    Now we may witness a third ‘retirement’ in as many seasons from Roy Hodgson.
    Palace have stopped looking forward and  are swiftly heading backwards.
    AD ENOUGH
    Wolves have had a shocking run of refereeing decisions since the World Cup.
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    So it seems unfair to applaud a bad refereeing decision which went against them — but we’ll try.
    When Adama Traore refused to play to the whistle after a slight shirt pull and allowed Leeds through to score their final goal in the 4-2 win at Molineux, ref Michael Salisbury was wrong to wave play on by the letter of the law — but correct by the spirit of the game. More