According to reports from The Daily Star this morning, Arsene Wenger has dismissed the notion of Arsenal attempting to sign Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane.
The 22 year-old’s meteoric rise last season saw him become the Premier League’s top scoring Englishman, netting 21 times in 34 appearances, and emerge as a recurring fixture in Roy Hodgson’s England squad.
After a slow start to the campaign, the 6 foot 2 centre-forward has returned to scoring ways in recent weeks, bagging six goals in his last three appearances across all competitions – including a Premier League hat-trick against Bournemouth.
The six-cap international has often been mooted as one of Manchester United’s prime transfer targets, with the latest reports claiming they could make an offer in excess of £50million after missing out on the likes of Thomas Muller and Edinson Cavani during the summer.
But in today’s press conference ahead of Sunday’s north London derby, it was Arsenal who were quizzed on the notion of signing their local rivals’ star player – in no small part due to pictures emerging in February of Kane wearing a Gunner strip as a ten-year old.
Wenger, aged 66, replied; “He has great qualities and he will make a great career. Once a player is at Spurs you don’t even consider him any more.”
Those who remember Sol Campbell’s infamous move from White Hart Lane to Highbury in 2001, however, might struggle to take the Arsenal manager’s words at face value.