For the second year running, the speed of Tottenham’s transfer business is encouraging, but the future of Harry Kane is threatening to hang over the club’s summer rebuild, writes Dan Kilpatrick.

Spurs have already signed goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, completed a permanent deal for Dejan Kulusevski (at a discount) and on Wednesday confirmed the £40m capture of James Maddison.

If Spurs sign a new centre-half in the coming days — Edmond Tapsoba is a target and there is interest in re-signing Clement Lenglet — they will have addressed the three biggest issues in the squad before new head coach Ange Postecoglou officially starts work on July 1.

However, the success or otherwise of Spurs’s summer now appears likely to be determined by Kane’s future, with Bayern Munich confident of landing the England captain, despite seeing an initial £60m bid rebuffed.

Kane broke Tottenham’s all-time goalscoring record in February with the winner against Manchester City.

It saw Kane move beyond Jimmy Greaves’ tally of 266 goals for Spurs, which had stood since 1970.

The next target in Kane’s sights is Alan Shearer’s record Premier League haul of 260 goals.

After a fine individual campaign in which he scored 30 goals, despite the north London club finishing eighth and having three head coaches, the forward is now only 48 away from passing Shearer’s tally.

One source had told me that offer [from Bayern] did go in, but Tottenham say no official bid has gone in, and their position remains the same: Kane is not for sale.

“Of course, bids can be done in various ways; official, written, phone conversations, verbal. It’s difficult to prove one way or the other unless you are in the room. But the facts are that Bayern Munich would very much like Harry Kane.

“Things have certainly moved on from the earlier part of the window where we were reporting Manchester United were interested. Today is a significant development because we do know Bayern Munich are very interested in Harry Kane.

“Tottenham are not prepared to entertain any offers and, as far as Daniel Levy is concerned, Kane will be a Spurs player next season.”

Tottenham hotspur has acquired the services of England international, James Maddison after sealing a £40m move from Leicester.

Tottenham sign James Maddison on five-year deal from Leicester for £40m; Newcastle were also interested in Maddison, who had a year left on his Leicester contract; Leicester were unwilling to sell him in January, but following relegation to Championship have decided to cash in.

Bolstering Tottenham’s midfield options has been a top priority ahead of Ange Postecoglou’s first season in charge.

Maddison joins the club after five years at the King Power Stadium, where he played 203 games and scored 55 goals. He won the FA Cup and Community Shield while at Leicester, and netted 10 Premier League goals for the club in his final season despite their relegation.

Maddison joins the club after five years at the King Power Stadium, where he played 203 games and scored 55 goals. He won the FA Cup and Community Shield while at Leicester, and netted 10 Premier League goals for the club in his final season despite their relegation.

He is the second signing under new manager Ange Postecoglou, after Sweden midfielder Dejan Kulusevski turned his loan spell into a permanent move.

Vicario, 26, impressed in his two years at Empoli, earning a first international call-up last season.

Spurs captain and current number one Hugo Lloris has 12 months left on his contract.

Vicario is described by the north London club as a “commanding goalkeeper with the ability to play out from the back”.

Vicario his career at Udinese and had spells at Cagliari, Perugia and Venezia before joining Empoli in July 2021 following their promotion to Serie A.

Empoli were expected to be battling against relegation but the 6ft 4in keeper has helped them to consecutive 14th-place finishes.

Last season Vicario conceded just 39 goals in 31 league appearances, keeping seven clean sheets, as Empoli finished 12 points clear of the drop zone.

He received his first call-up to the Italy squad in September, when he was an unused substitute in their 1-0 home defeat by England in European Championship qualifying.

Vicario has since been named on the bench for friendlies against Albania and Austria, and in their run to this month’s Nations League semi-final.

Fraser Forster, 35, is another option in goal for Spurs and the England keeper deputised last season when Lloris was injured.

Newcastle were also interested in signing James Maddison, who had only a year left on his Leicester contract, but Tottenham are now in pole position; Leicester were unwilling to sell Maddison in January, but following their relegation to the Championship have decided to cash in

Maddison, 26, who has won three caps for England and helped the Foxes win the FA Cup in 2021, is set to undergo a medical at Spurs on Wednesday.

He has made 203 appearances for Leicester since joining from Norwich in 2018 for a fee of around £20m.

Maddison scored 10 Premier League goals last term but was unable to prevent the club from slipping to relegation.

Overall, he scored 55 goals and provided 41 assists for the Foxes and his creativity will be a welcome addition to a Spurs squad that has lacked a playmaker since the departure of Christian Eriksen in 2020.

Newcastle have also previously attempted to sign Maddison but appear to have turned their attention to AC Milan’s Sandro Tonali this summer.

Tottenham signed Italian goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario from Serie A side Empoli on Tuesday and have also made Sweden midfielder Dejan Kulusevski’s loan move from Juventus permanent since the arrival of new manager Ange Postecoglou

Tottenham may be forced to cash in on Harry Kane if they receive an offer of £80 million plus add-ons from a foreign club.

The England captain has one year left on his contract with reports suggesting Bayern Munich have had a £60.2m plus add-ons bid rejected by Spurs for the 29-year-old.

Kane is currently on holiday assessing his options, but it is believed Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel is pushing his club’s pursuit for the player personally and believes he can be enticed to Germany.

It is claimed Tuchel wanted to sign Kane while he was in charge at Chelsea and is ready to sell a move to the German champions by telling him they can win the Champions League together.

It might be the end of an Era for the English international I the north London outfit Spurs after failing to win a major trophy for the club after impressive seasons

Declan Rice is still understood to favour a move to Arsenal, despite Manchester City making a statement of intent with a bid for the England midfielder.

West Ham captain Rice is expected to leave the London Stadium this summer after leading the team to Europa Conference League glory. The East London side continue to wait for a bidder to meet their £100m+ asking price, though – a sum which could see ¬ Rice match the British record fee set by Jack Grealish’s 2021 move to City.

With arsenal initial and latest bid rejected by westham, Manchester city are closing in with a three figure gigantic bid in the pursuit of the England international signature during this current transfer window

Rice joined West Ham’s academy from Chelsea as a teenager and has been ever-present since his breakthrough season in 2017-18. He took over the captaincy after Mark Noble’s retirement last year.

The 24-year-old played 50 games in all competitions this season as West Ham finished 14th in the Premier League before clinching the Europa Conference League in Prague.

Rice has played more than 200 games for West Ham and also earned 41 caps for England since his international debut in 2019.

Manchester United have an interest in Rice and there have been discussions internally about how possible it would be to sanction a deal.

Due to Financial Fair Play rules, it is unlikely United could spend a huge portion of their budget on one player – especially as they have other areas they want to strengthen.

Guler, just 18-years-old, has been tipped for great things following a stellar 2022-23 campaign with the Turkish giants.

He notched six goals and seven assists in 35 appearances across all competitions, helping his side lift the Turkish Cup earlier in June.

As a result, Guler has attracted interest from some of the biggest names in Europe, with the attacking midfielder expected to be spoilt for choice if he chooses to move on this summer.

According to Football Insider, the Gunners are now “seriously exploring a deal for Guler”, but face major competition from European giants Barcelona, Ajax and north London rivals Tottenham.

While Turkish-Football’s Emre Sarigul has claimed that Arsenal have also made contact with the player’s family, who act as his representatives, to discuss a possible move to the Emirates this summer.

Indeed, he is one of the most sought-after youngsters in world football and further enhanced his reputation with a stunning goal in Turkey’s Euro 2024 qualifier victory over Wales last week.

While he received a glowing review from AC Milan legend Andrea Pirlo, who said “there is no limit” to Guler’s potential.

“Arda Guler is a very talented player. He has the potential to play anywhere in the world,” Pirlo told Turkish outlet Hurriyet.

“He has quality, he can read the game well, and he has great technique. If he keeps developing his game, there is no limit to his potential.

It’s been a very busy and tough summer for arsenal who are looking to strengthen their squad after losing the pl to city.

It is understood the Gunners will pay Chelsea £65m for the 23-year-old Germany international with reports that he has signed a five-year deal at Emirates Stadium making him arsenal’s first signing during this summer transfer window.
 

Chelsea are understood to be satisfied with the deal as Havertz had made it clear he wanted to leave Stamford Bridge after a dissapointing season with the club.

It spells the end of a three-year stint at Chelsea for Havertz, who secured his place in the club’s history by scoring the goal that won them a second Champions League crown in 2021.

Chelsea signed Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen in 2020 for £75m but were looking to recoup a substantial portion of what they paid after an indifferent campaign at Stamford Bridge

Brentford maintained their push for Europe by beating one of their biggest rivals in the race, overcoming Fulham 3-2 and moving one point behind the Cottagers.

The Bees had already gone close three times when centre-back Ethan Pinnock opened the scoring in the sixth minute, with his low strike deflecting in off Tim Ream.

Fulham equalised before half-time as Andreas Pereira’s free-kick came back off the woodwork and Manor Solomon followed up with a close-range header, scoring for the fourth straight Premier League match.

But Brentford regained their lead in the 53rd minute. Issa Diop fouled Aaron Hickey in the box and Ivan Toney scored from the spot, hitting his 15th Premier League goal of the season and maintaining his record of converting every penalty in the competition, with 10 from 10 attempts.

Thomas Frank then brought 21-year-old Kevin Schade off the bench in the 77th minute, and eight minutes later the winger set up Mathias Jensen to make it 3-1.

Fulham substitute Carlos Vinicius gave the Bees a late scare when he scored in the ninth minute of stoppage time, but there was no time for further drama.

Brentford are now unbeaten in 12 Premier League matches. Sitting ninth in the table, they are seven points outside the top four, with two matches in hand on fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.