Thomas Tuchel is glad that Harry Kane remained at Tottenham amid strong links to Manchester City this summer, while the Chelsea boss also says his club were "never close" to pursuing the Spurs star.
Kane remained at Spurs this summer despite Manchester City's pursuit, with rumours of a move only heating up after Kane didn't show up to the club's first training sessions.
But Kane has said that he's fully committed to Spurs going forward, which Tuchel is happy to see as a fan, even if he isn't eager to face the striker as a coach.
What did Tuchel say?
"I thought that this is going to happen," he said of Kane's proposed Manchester City move. "No I was not scared, but if it would have happened I would have been very interested in how maybe it would have changed Manchester City’s style of playing.
"We are not afraid of anyone. We accept any team and Manchester City, Man Utd and Liverpool, they are the teams strong like no other in this league and they have strong squads. These are the guys with whom we want to compete and it’s normal that they fight for the best players and I thought this is maybe going to happen.
"On one side I was happy that he stayed because it is also nice that it exists in football that players play for one club only and so Harry Kane is Tottenham. Even for me I have absolutely nothing to do with Tottenham, I have never worked for them, when I think about Tottenham in the last decade you think about Harry Kane and this is very nice.
"Like you think about [Lionel] Messi and straight away you think about Barcelona and it is very hard to think that he plays for another club now and that’s the same for Harry Kane.
"So from this side, I was happy because I like it and a part of my personality is still a fan and I like that things like this happen. It is also nice that Romelu [Lukaku] is back at Chelsea and some things are a good fit and should not be changed."
'We were never close'
Tuchel went on to reveal that his club were never really in pursuit of Kane, even before signing Lukaku this summer.
“We never had a list with his name on it and I never went to Marina [Granovskaia, Chelsea director] to tell her to buy him," Tuchel said of Kane. "But the club sorted out the situation.
"There are many people around players, their agents and advisors and people in between and we had some information from these people but it was never that close that we had to experience the rivalry. We know about the rivalry but I had a feeling that it was never that far.”
Lukaku completed a £98 million ($136m) return to Stamford Bridge this summer, giving Chelsea the star No.9 they had been aiming for.
And he has started the season well, scoring four goals in as many games ahead of Chelsea's clash with Spurs this weekend.
Kane, meanwhile, has scored twice in five appearances in all competitions this season.
Further reading
- Chelsea's new, improved Lukaku needs a trophy haul worthy of his talent
- 'That's why he's here!' - Chelsea boss Tuchel full of praise for match-winner Lukaku
- Ronaldo, Lukaku or Kane: Which Fantasy Premier League forward should you transfer in?