Tottenham making it clear that Harry Kane is not for sale

Never for a moment was there any much doubt that Tottenham had any intention whatsoever of selling their prized assets this summer. That won’t stop moneybag clubs from trying however

The Independent reported on Monday that Daniel Levy is steeling himself for bids for Tottenham’s star striker. Though the report includes no direct quotes, it does suggest that Levy won’t be tempted by anything less than £200 million.

Which, to be clear, is not putting Kane in the shop window. That amount represents double the record setting transfer fee Manchester United paid for Paul Pogba just a year ago. It is, in sum, an intentionally absurd number, one designed to telegraph the fact that Spurs aren’t selling.

Now, some might cite the recent inflation in the transfer market and that there are, in fact, a small elite of clubs in European football that are both wealthy and desperate enough for whatever advantages exist to make such a bid.

To that there is a relatively straight forward response. Levy is not ordinary negotiator. He might have tabled that £200 million number, but that wasn’t him going high and hoping for some middle ground to be reached. If history is any indication, that is merely his starting point. Should a bid ever be considered, expect it to be much higher than that.

There are two key reasons why there is slim to little chance that such a scenario will ever come to pass however.

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One, Harry Kane is freaking Harry Kane. He is the most prolific striker in England for the second year running, and a case could be made that he is among the best playing the game today. Tottenham need his talent — and his goals — is they are going to stay competitive next season at Wembley and continue to be in the title conversation when they move into their new stadium in 2018.

Two, selling or even considering bids for Kane would be a tacit admission that Spurs remain a selling club despite several seasons of attempting to prove the opposite.

One need not delve too far into the past to remember when Spurs regularly sold their best assets in some vain hope of re-investing and yielding a net benefit with the overall improvement of the roster.

The Gareth Bale sale and subsequent splurge disproved that notion pretty definitively. That near-disastrous failure to make up for the Welshman’s departure resulted in Levy ultimately turning to a more sustainable model helmed by Mauricio Pochettino.

Levy’s change of course proved to be a masterstroke. Pochettino thinned out the squad considerably, resulting in a transfer surplus that could be re-invested in finding players more to the Argentine’s liking. That combined with a dramatic change in tactics directly contributed to Spurs’ Champions League qualification — and their proximity to the title — over the last two seasons.

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Pochettino and Levy’s rebuild of the club is still ongoing despite these early successes, which makes the prospect of cashing in on Kane even more preposterous. Why would the club invest so much energy and time — not to mention money in the form of a new stadium — if they are going to fall for the first suitor who comes along for their homegrown superstar?