Spurs boss Nuno details first chat with Harry Kane
Tottenham are set to face new scrutiny over the future of Harry Kane after it emerged that their bid for Lautaro Martinez was far bigger than expected. Spurs are believed to be in the market for a new striker this summer, although the club insist that any new signing would arrive to partner the Englishman.
Martinez had reportedly perked the interest of both Arsenal and Tottenham this summer, although Inter are not thought to be keen on letting their frontman leave.
Much of that will be down to the fact that they lost Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea last week in a bumper £98million deal.
Spurs still tried their luck, however, and the final bid tabled by the north London side was reported by Sky Italia at a colossal £76.5million.
Whichever way it is spun, that is a colossal figure for a club who supposedly started the summer in a position where they had to sell before they could buy.
Lautaro Martinez was the subject of a £76.5m bid from Spurs (Image: GETTY)
The mammoth fee which Spurs were seemingly prepared to part with implies three things.
Firstly, they rate the Argentine extremely highly, and they can hardly be blamed after his 17-goal Serie A haul last season helped Inter to a league triumph.
The 23-year-old then followed up his domestic success with an historic Copa America victory for Argentina.
Secondly, cash-strapped Inter are in no mood to let any more of their star power leave this summer, having already lost Achraf Hakimi and Lukaku among others.
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Finally, the willingness for a traditionally stingy Spurs to launch such a bid implies that they are expecting to receive a significant cash injection later in the transfer window.
Based on a player who has ultimately been one of the talking points of the summer, that would likely involve the exit of Harry Kane from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Up to now, the club have been adamant that their talisman is going nowhere, unless Manchester City want to meet their lofty £150m valuation.
If the bid for Martinez was accepted and the talented frontman was on his way to north London, Spurs may have relaxed their stance on Kane, but after Inter's rejection they may well stand firm.
Kane reportedly told Spurs about his preference to leave the club this summer (Image: GETTY)
Another target could yet throw a spanner in the works, with Dusan Vlahovic reportedly nearing a move to Spurs from Fiorentina.
A strong argument could be made that a marquee signing up top would arrive as Kane's replacement, rather than his new partner.
The England captain was left out of the squad for Spurs' victory over Man City over match fitness concerns.
Clearly, the whole picture regarding Kane's future is not entirely clear, but Spurs' monster bid for Martinez tells a number of different stories.