We know what he did last summer. He had Manchester City in mind and confusion over his late return to pre-season, after which the goals didn’t go as usual.
A year later, Harry Kane’s focus couldn’t be sharper as he prepares for another campaign at Tottenham, speaking with positivity about the ‘buzz’ in the camp and the ‘excitement’ generated by five new signings – with Djed Spence nearly six .
He talks about his confidence in boss Antonio Conte, who arrived in November and managed to get him back to his best.
Harry Kane’s focus couldn’t be sharper as he prepares for another campaign with Tottenham
He talks about helping Spurs get back to where they should be, producing when it’s crunch time and delivering ‘something special’ for the fans.
He even talks about trophies.
“We haven’t won a trophy in a long time,” Kane said yesterday. “We haven’t been at the level we know we can be for the past two or three years.
“Although we did very well to get a Champions League spot and that gave everyone a good boost around the club and an incentive to continue this season.
Tottenham striker admits Antonio Conte has taken his fitness to another level
“It’s a big season. We’ve had some big sign ups, early sign ups, which is great. We have to look forward to that, but there is still work to be done before the start of the new season.’
Kane was chatting at a girls’ soccer coaching event in Seoul, hosted by Nike and Active Modoo, between two of Conte’s long and grueling pre-season training sessions.
“Antonio has been fantastic,” Kane said. “I’ve learned from every manager I’ve worked under and Antonio probably took fitness to the next level for me.
“He really made the training intense. Antonio likes to work, he likes to be on the training pitch as long as he likes and to make sure we are well prepared for every game. Mentality, being with him every day, seeing how he prepares, how he brings his passion and gets the best out of the guys, that’s what I learned from.
Middlesbrough right back Djed Spence is almost the sixth summer signing
“I feel like I’m learning every year anyway and getting more experience and getting better, but with someone like Antonio it speeds up that process even more.”
On Monday night, Kane wasn’t talking, he was on his knees vomiting during one of the grueling runs performed by Conte’s fitness guru, Gian Piero Ventrone, in Seoul.
“We have worked very hard,” said the England captain. ‘We have new signings, there’s a buzz about the place. It was sometimes difficult in certain sessions, but it has been good and everyone is looking forward to the season.
‘We are working in the right direction. Hopefully we can use some momentum from the end of last season to go into it this year and keep going. I feel in good shape, even though there is still work to be done in the coming month. I feel like I have a lot more to give.
Kane participates in a girls’ soccer coaching event in Seoul hosted by Nike and Active Modoo
“I’m at that stage of my career where I want to keep pushing and keep improving. It was good to see how my condition changed during the period he (Conte) came in. It made me want to keep doing that and do everything I can to keep improving.”
At the end of the upcoming season, Kane will turn 30 and enter the final year of his contract. The big question is whether Tottenham can convince him to sign another contract.
And can they convince Conte to extend his contract, which expires next year? Sure, to keep Kane, they need to keep the coach he’s talking about in such glowing terms. The two are intertwined.
Or is he still determined to leave? Will his contract expire, as more star players seem to do. Does the bitterness of last summer linger? Is this intense focus just one of the skills of a world-class athlete?
“Yeah, I’m just looking forward to the new season and looking forward to seeing what we can do,” Kane said, when asked if he found out of his system and a closed chapter last summer.
Tottenham players and coaching staff took part in the session in Seoul on Friday
The answer could have been less ambiguous, but it seems like he’s talking fluent footballese about taking one season at a time.
“For me it’s just to have another good year, another consistent year,” Kane added.
‘Try to help the team as much as possible, try to score as many goals as possible.
“From a team perspective, it’s always about winning trophies. There is a good buzz around the club at the moment but as always you need to get out there and perform and show what you can do when it’s crunch time.
‘We haven’t quite done that in recent years. Hopefully we can really push through with this manager, this team and try to do something special.”