‘I think I dealt with it well’ - Harry Kane on summer transfer speculation following criticism of form

ByRichard Newman

Updated 11/11/2021 at 17:56 GMT

The England captain admits he may never get over losing the Euro 2020 final to Italy, unless he wins a major international tournament in the future. The Tottenham striker - who only has one Premier League goal this season - says he is “focusing” on the future, after a summer dominated by rumours he could leave Spurs for Manchester City.

Harry Kane believes he has handled summer transfer speculation linking him with a move from Tottenham to Manchester City well, despite struggling with his form in the opening part of the season.

Although he has 10 goals for club and country so far this campaign, only one of those was in the Premier League - a 3-2 win at relegation strugglers Newcastle.

Kane announced in August that he would be staying at Spurs for the time being, after City failed in their attempt to bring him to the club. The forward says he has reacted well to that, but admits there may have been a slight hangover from England’s defeat to Italy in the final of Euro 2020.

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“Losing a European final for your country at Wembley will probably stay with me the rest of my career,” he said.

“You never really get over those things, unless we go and win a major tournament. That always stings but I'm pretty used to getting back into things.

There was a lot of speculation over the summer, that's the first real time that's happened to me. But that's part and parcel of being a big player, having to deal with those situations, and I think I dealt with it well.

“Now it's about focusing. There's still a long way to go at club level and we've got these two (England) games to finish off what's been a great calendar year.”

Kane is likely to lead the line in tomorrow’s World Cup qualifier with Albania, which could seal a place in Qatar for Gareth Southgate’s squad - though that would also depend on other results. He says he has not yet had a chance to properly look back on the summer.

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“It's always hard when you finish a major tournament,” he said.

“The last two tournaments we've got to a semi-final then a final, and it takes a lot out of you. It's not just physically, it's mentally as well. Then before you know it you're back playing in the Premier League, so I guess you never really have a chance to take it all in and learn from what happened.

"It almost becomes a bit of a whirlwind at times and it's about adapting to that and getting back into the swing of things as soon as possible.

“For me it's about getting back to basics, getting back to the training pitch, and working hard there. We play a lot of games through the year so there's not much time to recover and reflect."

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