Tottenham’s Antonio Conte: Bayern ‘disrespectful’ for Harry Kane transfer talk

Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has said Bayern Munich have been “disrespectful” for talking about the possibility of signing Harry Kane in the future.

Last summer, Kane tried to push through a move to Manchester City, although he remained in north London, scoring 17 goals in 37 Premier League games last season as he helped guide Spurs to Champions League qualification.

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German newspaper BILD reported on Saturday that Kane’s representatives have been approached by Bayern, with the striker’s team refusing to rule out the chance of a transfer.

Bayern are without a striker after the departure of longtime forward Robert Lewandowski, who completed a move to Barcelona on Tuesday.

Speaking after Spurs’ 2-1 preseason win over Rangers on Saturday where Kane scored two goals, Conte expressed his disappointment at Bayern talking about his striker publicly.

“I don’t know why [Kane is linked with Bayern.] The situation is very clear at Tottenham and Harry is a very important part of the project. I don’t like to talk about players from another club. Maybe that’s a bit disrespectful for the other club,” Conte said.

The Italian coach’s comments come after Bayern boss Julien Nagelsmann said that Kane, who has two years remaining on his Spurs contract, would be a great fit at Bayern.

“He’s very expensive that’s the problem — but brilliant player, one of two or three who can play as a centre-forward [as well as a] No 10, but he’s very strong, brilliant with [his] head and both feet,” Nagelsmann told reporters on Friday during the club’s preseason tour of the United States.

“He could score a lot in the Bundesliga, I don’t know the price, but it’s really tough for Bayern Munich. We’ll see what happens in the future.”

Bayern chief executive Oliver Kahn told BILD on Monday that Kane is a world-class striker, but added that any move would be in the future.

“He is under contract at Tottenham,” Kahn said. “Sure, he is an absolute top striker, but that’s all a dream of the future.

“Let’s see what happens.”