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Tottenham Hotspur defender Emerson Royal has claimed that Harry Kane wants to “stay” amid speculation about his potential exit.

What did Emerson Royal say about Harry Kane?

Will Kane leave Spurs this summer? It’s arguably the most-discussed transfer rumour in England over the past few months.

From TV pundits to strangers at the pub, you’ve probably heard nearly everyone who follows football offer their opinion on the matter at some point.

Even Kane has had to address the situation recently. Indeed, after scoring twice against Leeds United on the final day of the season, he told BT Sport (via Manchester Evening News): “It is part and parcel of being a footballer [speculation about leaving] especially when you are at the top of your game.

“I have focused on this season and helping the team as much as possible. I am just looking forward to a nice break and some games with England.”

Well, his Tottenham teammate Emerson has now potentially provided a little bit of insider information when speaking to the press.

He said (via Football Daily) “Top [player], for me, he’s number one in this position. I’m so happy for him.

“He wants to stay with us. I want to play with him for a long time.”

Why would Kane stay at Spurs?

Kane is currently on £200k-p/w at Tottenham and his current deal expires in 2024. It’s been reported that he may not sign a new deal and simply leave for free in 12 months’ time.

However, he could also push for a move this summer with Manchester United heavily linked. 90min claims he is the club’s “top transfer target”.

Of course, this might be tempting as he’s not getting any younger (turning 30 this July) and is still yet to win a major trophy in his career.

Some with connections to Sputs even think he should leave. Speaking on Sky Sports, Jamie Redknapp said (via Manchester Evening News): “It feels at the moment that Tottenham is a shambles.

“They can’t seem to get a manager. If you were Harry Kane with one year to go, this is the time to leave.

“He has to push now because Man United might get somebody else. He missed out on Man City a few years ago when he wasn’t allowed to leave, right now it feels like he needs to push.”

However, if Emerson does indeed have some inside information, perhaps Kane isn’t looking to go just yet.

This could make sense too because if he sticks around for one more year he can then leave for free next summer.

New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has lauded captain Kane Williamson’s demeanour and work ethic for the team’s seamless transition from the Brendon McCullum era. Hesson also felt McCullum and Williamson brought a largely similar approach to their leadership styles.”Kane captained, I think, 36 games before he took over full-time. Even during the time that Brendon was captain, for a number of tours or part of the tours, Kane came in and it was a very seamless change,” Hesson told reporters after New Zealand arrived in New Delhi.”I think the key to any captain-coach relationship is to making sure that we use each other’s strengths. Kane is very thoughtful, methodical, [as a] player likes to plan well, but also likes his own time.”Brendon wasn’t hugely dissimilar to that; he prepared really well. He was probably a little bit more of a high profile, sort of ‘out there’ character, especially in New Zealand. As you see, Kane is probably slightly more of a backseat [type] but within the team they operate in a very similar fashion.”Williamson, for his part, is well aware of the importance of compartmentalising his twin roles as leader and premier batsman. Although he comes on the back of a good run of scores – Williamson finished as the team’s second-highest run-getter in New Zealand’s recent tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa – he recognises the need to pull his weight as one of the team’s better players of spin bowling.”I suppose you take that [captaincy] hat off and you are very much a batsman and you have a role to play in the team. I see them as slightly different things, so that to me is the focus,” Williamson said.”India is a tough place to play, particularly, in more recent years where the pitches have been very tricky. I guess [when] you throw in world-class spinners, the challenges are very tough but at the same time we see it as a very exciting opportunity. [The] previous series’ here, certainly spin played a huge part, and at times batting was difficult.”Hesson said playing on the dry pitches of Bulawayo during the Zimbabwe tour was a useful preparatory exercise ahead of the India series. Both he and Williamson agreed their players had to draw upon whatever past experiences they had of playing in India – either during the IPL or in past tournaments like the World T20.”That [Zimbabwe tour] was very much a spin-dominant series and conditions,” he said. “Although it didn’t spin as much, it certainly was slower and probably similar pace that we are going to face in India. The week between the series has been about rest really and recovery, and obviously the next week-to-ten days is going to be critical to be really specific around individual game plans.”Hesson was upbeat about New Zealand’s “gifted” spin trio – Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and the returning Mark Craig – making a mark despite their relative inexperience: they have a combined tally of 98 wickets from 34 Tests.”In the last couple of years, a number of overseas spinners have done well, so we certainly back our spinning group [which is] young and inexperienced but gifted,” Hesson said. “The challenge for us is firstly in adjusting to the different ball – the SG Test is going to be completely different to what we have been operating with the Kookaburra. So, there is a little bit of change there, a little bit of changing around seam angles, which are different over here than they are in different parts of the world.”Even though we are not going to bowl like sub-continental bowlers, we do have to make sure that we find a way to create opportunities. All those three are keen learners of the game and certainly we are going to put a lot of faith in them over the coming weeks.”Hesson also believed that the seamers, Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner, would put to good use the time they spent working on reverse swing in Zimbabwe. “It is a huge component of playing cricket overseas,” he said. “We have obviously spent a lot of time in Zimbabwe where we got the ball to reverse, and on surfaces that aren’t responsive in terms of seam movement.”There are many different methods [of getting the ball to reverse] and we certainly are going to have to be working on that over the coming days.”

Umesh Yadav said bowling maidens has been a central part of their plans for the tour, given the predominance of slow pitches in the Caribbean

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jul-20161:47

Shami and I have excellent chemistry – Umesh

Of the 103.2 overs India have bowled to West Indies so far in the Antigua Test, 34 have been maidens. Umesh Yadav, who took four wickets in the first innings to help India enforce the follow-on, said bowling maidens has been a central part of their plans for the tour, given the predominance of slow pitches in the Caribbean.”When we came to the ground and saw the wicket, we realised we won’t get wickets where the ball will seam or swing,” Umesh said, at the end of the third day’s play. “We knew the conditions would be pretty hard, especially because it was going to be hot as well.”The main thing we planned was to bowl as many maidens as possible, and not give easy boundaries. Whether it’s the coach [Anil Kumble] or Virat [Kohli, the captain], the whole team sits and discusses the same thing, that it won’t be easy to take 20 wickets, and so it becomes very important to plan. And it can’t end there. If it’s said in the meeting that we have to bowl maidens, then we have to bowl maidens, because we know we won’t take 20 wickets otherwise.”India’s bowlers, according to Umesh, made a conscious effort to not relax after their batsmen had piled up 566 in the first innings. “We don’t look at it like we have 566,” he said. “We look at it like we have only made 350, and the earlier we bowl them out, the better it is for us in the second innings. Our effort was that, if we got them out by the end of today, we would have two more days to bowl them out again.”India went into the Test with three genuine fast bowlers, and five frontline bowlers in all, and Umesh praised the chemistry among them.”We always give that kind of confidence to each other, always we are pushing [each other],” he said. “Whenever things are a little difficult, we need to push our friend or team-mate a little bit, and lift them. When we see, for example, that [Mohammed] Shami is bowling very well but he’s not getting wickets, my job is, I go to him and say, “Shami, you’re bowling very well, keep going.” Because I know that if someone is bowling well from one end, then it helps the person at the second end, so if we don’t plan and bowl as a combination, it becomes difficult for us. Main thing is, you push each other and complement each other, and recognise that, “yeah, it’s not my day today [to take wickets], it’s your day”.Shami, playing his first Test in over a year-and-a-half after returning from a long-term knee injury, also took four wickets in West Indies’ first innings. Umesh said the team never doubted whether Shami would come back successfully.”There was no doubt about it, because he’s a natural bowler. We never thought he’ll struggle. If he struggled, it was only until he had recovered from his injury. No one has to tell him, bowl here, bowl like this. He’s a smart bowler, he’s got everything – outswing, inswing, bouncers.”

Barinder Sran has said that the bowler-friendly conditions in Zimbabwe and the time spent with Ashish Nehra and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the IPL have helped him develop an inswinger

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jun-2016Barinder Sran had an underwhelming debut series in Australia, where he took three wickets at an average of 56.66 and gave away 6.45 runs an over. But in India’s three-ODI series against Zimbabwe, the left-arm seamer took four wickets at 24.75, at an economy rate of 4.12, and showcased a new weapon – an inswinger that was a source of discomfort for Zimbabwe’s batsmen. Ahead of the T20I series that begins in Harare on Saturday, Sran said he had consciously worked on getting his wrist position right.”It’s the difference in the conditions [between Australia and Zimbabwe],” Sran said. “I changed the seam position a bit, made some changes to my action because I’m looking to swing the new ball. So I’m not putting in too much effort, because if I do that, I lose my wrist position and it reduces the swing.”Sran had erred frequently in his line and length in Australia, and his bouncers were largely ineffective. But in Zimbabwe, he has mostly stuck to a fuller length. “[In Australia], I had a problem in my shoulder because of which I couldn’t perform to my potential. So I was under some pressure,” Sran said. “I didn’t have much IPL experience either then, I had played only one IPL match, and even in the Ranji Trophy, only 10-11 matches. Still, everybody supported me and that felt good.”Nothing much has changed, because in Australia, there was a huge difference in the kind of wickets. It was quite hot there and they were good batting wickets, whereas here, there is some help for the bowlers. I have just been focusing and working on those areas where I’m weak, like when I was trying to swing, the ball wasn’t coming back in, so I worked on that regularly. In the IPL too, [Ashish] Nehra and Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] were with me, they taught me seam position and supported me in all aspects from the beginning. For two-three days, I went to Chandigarh as well and met my coach Amit Uniyal and worked with him.”The performances in Zimbabwe have been a step forward after his struggles in Australia, but Sran acknowledged that work was needed before he can be considered ready for Test cricket. “To get there, I need to be consistent and bowl one line and length,” he said. “I need to improve a lot, I need to improve my pace and fitness level. I will work towards achieving these in the next season.”

West Indies allrounder Andre Russell has committed an “anti-doping whereabouts” violation, according to the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO), and could face a lengthy ban from cricket.Russell, who is part of the West Indies squad for the upcoming World T20, has reportedly missed three such tests in a 12-month period, which equates to a failed test under doping laws.”We received notification of Russell’s violation about two weeks ago and I’ve appointed a panel to hear his case,” JADCO independent disciplinary panel chairman Kent Pantry told .Athletes must make their whereabouts known to local anti-doping agencies to facilitate testing. Russell could face a possible two-year ban if found guilty of the violation.”There is a process regarding the findings by JADCO,” the West Indies Cricket Board said in a statement. “All that will be observed and you will be advised accordingly.”

West Ham United could be in line for a mega-money windfall as journalist Pete O’Rourke shares some news on minority shareholder Daniel Kretinsky.

The Lowdown: Kretinsky becomes stakeholder…

In 2021, the Czech billionaire completed his purchase of a 27% stake in West Ham, giving the club a financial boost off-the-field and adding to their pool of investors.

The deal was worth around £180 million-£200 million, and it was a move which propelled Kretinsky on to the West Ham board – making him the second-largest shareholder.

There have been murmurs that the Sparta Prague owner could well increase his stake with Kretinsky agreeing the  option to instigate a full takeover in his 2021 deal.

The Latest: West Ham in line for Kretinsky windfall?

As per journalist O’Rourke, writing for Football Insider, Kretinsky is now keen to increase his stake with a new £150 million investment.

The magnate is apparently interested in acquiring David Gold’s shares with the former West Ham chief having sadly passed away in January.

A £150m+ deal for Gold’s shares would bring Kretinsky’s stake up to 52%, making him the majority shareholder, with O’Rourke suggesting this could happen ‘as soon as this season’.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-news-6/” title=”West Ham latest news” poster=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cropped-david-moyes-premier-league-scaled-1.jpg” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: Good news?

Of course, this could be good news for West Ham and supporters who have specifically taken issue with club hierarchy in recent seasons.

There have been fierce protests in the last two seasons, fracturing the relationship between fans and ownership, and especially after the club moved to the London Stadium from their previous Boleyn Ground.

As West Ham battle relegation on the pitch, they could be overdue a promising development off the field, with a £150m+ windfall certainly coming as just that.

It will be interesting to see if this development does indeed come to fruition before the end of this season.

Joao Cancelo took the blame upon himself as Barcelona suffered a humiliating defeat against Villarreal in La Liga.

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Cancelo took responsibility for Barcelona's defeatDefender's mistake led to Villarreal's second goalBarcelona went down 5-3 at homeWHAT HAPPENED?

The Manchester City loanee, who played for the first time in three weeks after recovering from injury, committed a costly mistake in the 54th minute of the game as his lacklustre clearance fell into the path of Ilias Akhomach, who rounded Inaki Pena and finished for a 2-0 lead for Villarreal. Barcelona momentarily turned things around, scoring three times in a span of 11 minutes but the Yellow Submarine eventually clinched the clash 5-3.

In a post-game interview, Cancelo took the blame upon himself as he defended Xavi after the embarrassing defeat at home.

AdvertisementWHAT JOAO CANCELO SAID

Speaking at the post-match interview with , the defender said, "My performance today was a disaster. Tomorrow I will give everything in training to be at my best on Wednesday. We are a great team. The coach is not to blame. He did them well and I did not reciprocate. Has the League gone? Mathematically no, but it is very difficult."

Getty Images THE BIGGER PICTURE

This was the Catalan giants' second consecutive defeat across all competitions and the team has now conceded nine goals in their last two matches. The loss has increased their gap to league leaders Girona to 10 points and will place further scrutiny on Xavi's future at the club.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR BARCELONA?

The reigning champions will hope to get back to winning ways when they next take on Osasuna in La Liga on Wednesday.

The hosts secured a 73-run first-innings lead before picking up two early wickets to hurt West Indies further

Sreshth Shah11-Dec-2025Despite a bright bowling performance from the West Indies seamers, half-centuries from New Zealand’s Devon Conway and Mitchell Hay extended the hosts’ advantage after an absorbing second day of the Wellington Test. New Zealand secured a 73-run first-innings lead before a double-wicket burst from their quicks left West Indies still 41 behind with eight wickets in hand.West Indies produced bursts of quality with the ball to keep pegging New Zealand back, and several home batters contributed to their own dismissals with loose shots. But the visitors also offered enough scoring opportunities for Conway and Hay to make valuable inroads.Conway’s 60 – his first fifty against West Indies and 13th overall – anchored one end, while debutant Hay struck an enterprising 61 from No. 6. Their efforts allowed New Zealand to declare at 278 for 9, with the injured Blair Tickner not batting.Related

Tickner not to bowl or field, unlikely to bat for remainder of the Test

With the relatively new ball, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Ojay Shields and Anderson Phillip consistently challenged the batters as the ball swung both ways and occasionally jagged off the surface. Conway, however, punished the loose deliveries, hitting eight fours – mostly cuts and flicks – to keep New Zealand moving.From the non-striker’s end, he saw Tom Latham (11) lose his off stump to a nip-backer from Roach from around the wicket, before watching Kane Williamson (37) have his off stump pegged back by an Anderson Phillip delivery that squared him up. After lunch, Rachin Ravindra – who made 176 in Christchurch – was caught behind off Roach while chasing a wide one. Conway himself was then caught down the leg side off a poor Justin Greaves delivery, thanks to a superb diving take from Tevin Imlach. At that stage, New Zealand seemed to be wobbling at 117 for 4.Mitchell Hay scored a half-century on debut•Getty ImagesA fifth-wicket stand of 73 between Daryl Mitchell (25) and Hay – the latter playing in place of the injured Tom Blundell – brought New Zealand closer to West Indies’ first-innings score of 205. Mitchell was conservative, while Hay leaned on his white-ball instincts to score his runs, producing strong cuts through the off side and, when tested with short balls, pulling confidently over the leg side.Mitchell, like Conway, was eventually strangled down the leg side off Phillip. Hay later fell to the short-ball tactic: after striking back-to-back fours behind square leg, he miscued a pull off Shields straight to Roach at deep-backward square and walked back bitterly disappointed. At 213 for 6, New Zealand then leaned on Glenn Phillips (18) and the lower order to extend their lead.West Indies continued to pepper Phillips with short balls in a cat-and-mouse exchange that brought body blows and top-edges over the keeper. Seeking a change, captain Roston Chase turned to spin for the first time in the innings, and needed only four deliveries to tempt Phillips into a slog that failed to clear deep midwicket.Zak Foulkes then batted 43 balls and frustrated West Indies with deflections off the seamers’ through the gully region on his way to an unbeaten 23. Jacob Duffy added further runs with boundaries to long-off and long-on, and No. 10 Michael Rae joined a rare group of batters to begin their Test careers with five runs off an overthrow boundary. Rae reached 13 before the expensive Seales finally claimed his first wicket of the match, knocking back the debutant’s leg stump.New Zealand’s batting may have been patchy, but their bowlers restored control with a sharp ten-over burst late in the day. John Campbell fell in the seventh over, beaten by a Rae delivery that zipped in to hit off stump. Next over, nightwatcher Phillip initially survived a DRS review for caught behind off Duffy, but a second look confirmed he was lbw instead. Brandon King (15*) and Kavem Hodge (3*) saw out the final few minutes, but West Indies still face a steep challenge when play resumes on Friday.

Aston Villa have “stalled” in talks to sign Sevilla defender Marcos Acuna, but a reliable journalist has revealed that a deal has not yet completely been ruled out.

What position does Marcos Acuna play?

Acuna is primarily a left-back who has plied his trade at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium since 2020 having moved there from Sporting CP, and last season, he was a standout star during his 21 La Liga starts under Jose Luis Mendilibar.

The Argentina international firmly established himself as the Spanish outfit’s overall second top-performing player with a WhoScored match rating of 6.78, so despite still having another two years remaining on his contract, there’s a chance he could be on the move having caught the eye of Unai Emery in the Midlands.

According to reports, NSWE have already held contact with all parties regarding a swoop for the 31-year-old, with The Telegraph’s John Percy confirming that a deal is being worked on.

Football Insider later shared that the veteran had agreed personal terms over a move to the Premier League, and even though talks had continued, a switch might not be as advanced as initially imagined.

Are Aston Villa signing Marcos Acuna?

Taking to X, Rudy Galetti revealed that Aston Villa have been paused in their approach for Acuna by Sevilla who are now having second thoughts over letting him leave for the top-flight in England in a setback for Emery and Villa.

“Talks between #AstonVilla and #Sevilla for Marcos #Acuna is stalled in this moment. The [Spanish] club is not so convinced to let the [Argentina] player go: internal evaluations in progress to decide if stay in the negotiation or definitely close the door.”

Aston Villa having to halt their pursuit of Acuna will come as a setback to Emery, but with the defender having been hailed a “star man” by journalist Josh Bunting, the boss shouldn’t give up on his goal of reaching an agreement before the transfer deadline on September 1st.

The Zapala native, who is naturally left-footed, last season won 36 out of his 57 tackles made in La Liga which was the highest success rate throughout the whole of his squad, via FBRef, so loves to get stuck into challenges, but he’s also capable of making a positive impact at the opposite end of the pitch.

Read The Latest Aston Villa Transfer News HERE…

Sevilla’s £47k-per-week earner clocked up seven goal contributions (four assists and three goals) across all competitions and whipped 147 crosses into the opposition’s box, again more than any of his fellow teammates, representing his desire to create chances in the final third.

Finally, Acuna, who has the versatility to operate in seven different positions over the grass, already knows what it takes to compete and be successful at the top level having secured seven trophies for both club and country since the start of his career, including the 2022 World Cup, so he would be able to match the winning mentality of the squad at Villa Park, but by the looks of things, a move to England isn't guaranteed at this moment in time.

Tottenham Hotspur remain interested in a longstanding target of theirs, despite advancing deals elsewhere…

Are Tottenham Hotspur signing Edmond Tapsoba?

Whilst the north London transfer sphere has been dominated by reports of Micky van de Ven's imminent signing, it could be forgotten how desperate Ange Postecoglou was to sign Edmond Tapsoba for a period.

However, journalist Paul Brown continues to suggest that such interest has not ceased, but merely taken a back seat given the frustrating nature of the deal.

He told GIVEMESPORT:

"I still think Tottenham will buy a defender. Tapsoba is probably in the top three they're looking at. I'm not sure if they've decided which of these guys they like the most yet, but I think Tapsoba is very high on their list.

Read the latest Tottenham transfer news HERE…

"It's not going to take a lot to get this deal done. So, once a decision is made about which ones to bring in first, I think you'll see it happen. It wouldn't surprise me if Tapsoba is the one."

Given the €45m (£39m) they were reportedly set to offer earlier this week, they still seemingly remain firmly in the race for his services.

How good is Edmond Tapsoba?

Their longstanding interest in the 24-year-old stalwart is well-founded, given how imperious he has been since moving to Germany.

Just last term saw him excel in the Bundesliga yet again, as he continues to announce himself as one of the division's finest central defenders.

In acquiring him, it could avenge chairman Daniel Levy's past transfer failure from earlier in the window, as they reportedly battled with Aston Villa to sign Pau Torres from Villarreal.

The Spaniard had announced himself as one of Europe's top ball-playing centre-backs in his homeland, with his performances for the Yellow Submarine exemplary.

In fact, when compared to others in his role across the continent, he ranked in the top 4% for progressive passes per 90, and the top 1% for progressive carries per 90, via FBref.

However, in the end, the pull of Unai Emery proved too much, and he chose Villa Park over north London. A hammer blow for Spurs, and a damning indictment of their recent failures.

Postecoglou likely received a hefty wake-up call from such a disaster, which he could avenge by signing Tapsoba.

After all, the Burkina Faso star does rank similarly against the same group as Torres, sitting in the top 5% for progressive passes per 90, the top 8% for progressive carries per 90, and the top 6% for successful take-ons per 90, via FBref.

Not only this but last season in the Bundesliga, he maintained a 6.86 average rating, buoyed by 1.1 interceptions, 1.5 tackles and three clearances per game, via Sofascore.

Only two Spurs players recorded more clearances last term in the Premier League.

It was no surprise to see him lauded by journalist Antonio Mango, who outlined his key attributes before branding him a "monster," adding:

"Comfortable on the ball. Big, strong. Quick. Position good with a very good footballing IQ."

To instead sign the hulking titan over their previous transfer target would mark little drop in quality, and given these two sides will likely battle once again for similar spots, it will be interesting to see who comes out on top.

However, at the very least Postecoglou will be safe in the knowledge that despite failing to secure his initial target, his alternative would be arguably just as good.