Antonio Conte wants Harry Kane to sign a new deal at Tottenham, but is uncertain if his star striker will do so.
Kane seemed to be close to leaving the club where he has spent his entire career so far in 2021 when Manchester City were trying to sign him, only for Pep Guardiola's side to be reportedly put off by Spurs' asking price.
Despite a poor start to last season, Kane has thrived since the arrival of Conte as head coach last November, recording 28 goal involvements (20 goals, eight assists) in 32 Premier League games since the Italian came in.
His two goals against Nottingham Forest on Sunday helped Spurs to a 2-0 win at the City Ground, and rumours have begun about Kane penning a new deal at the club.
However, speaking at a press conference ahead of the trip to West Ham on Wednesday, Conte said while he would like Kane to commit further, he did not have any information on it.
"I have to be honest with you, I don't know, I don't know about this situation, I don't know the details, honestly, honestly," he said.
"You know we are talking about an important player for Tottenham, and the desire of everybody into the club is [for Kane] to continue to stay with Tottenham, to sign a new contract. But if you ask me about the details, about information, I cannot answer you."
The transfer window closes on Thursday, with Spurs having already added Yves Bissouma, Ivan Perisic, Richarlison, Djed Spence and Fraser Forster, as well as Clement Lenglet on loan and Destiny Udogie, who has been loaned back to Udinese.
Conte said he has made his feelings clear to the club about last-minute additions, but insisted he will be happy whatever happens, saying: "I spoke with the club. I spoke with [director of football, Fabio] Paratici, with [chairman] Daniel Levy, I said to them my opinion.
"But as you know very well, the most important thing is for the club to know my opinion. If we do something or not, it's OK."
One of the new arrivals, Richarlison, earned rave reviews for his performance from the bench against Forest as the former Everton man played a delightful cross with the outside of his right boot for Kane's second goal, and Conte added to the praise.
"I think about Richy, we are really happy," he said. "We are talking about a player who can help us a lot, we are talking about a player who is really good addition, especially up front. In the past at Tottenham [we] didn't have a player of this level behind Harry, behind [Son Heung-min]. Now we have a really good player.
"He is in the best moment of his career, to stay in Tottenham to show his talent, he has a big [talent] for sure. He can help us a lot in this season. And now every time he is playing, also for 20-30-40 minutes, he is playing very well. For sure in the next games you will see him in the starting 11."
Italiano confirms Fiorentina exit after Atalanta victory
Vincenzo Italiano confirmed he is leaving Europa Conference League runners-up Fiorentina after they ended their Serie A campaign with a 3-2 win at Atalanta on Sunday.
Italiano took charge of Fiorentina in 2021 and has led them to three successive top-eight finishes in Serie A, also reaching the Europa Conference League final in back-to-back campaigns.
However, they were beaten by a last-gasp Jarrod Bowen goal as West Ham lifted the trophy last year, then lost out to Olympiacos in extra time in the 2023-24 final.
The Viola wrapped up their campaign with an impressive 3-2 win at Atalanta in a rescheduled fixture on Sunday, after which he announced his departure.
"We all took this decision together not many weeks ago," Italiano told reporters after Sunday's game. "You reach a certain point where you have to stop.
"I'm convinced whoever arrives will be able to continue a path that will leave something improved, I hope I have left something to this group, I think they have been three positive years.
"The only regret was not having added the trophy, but as [Atalanta coach Gian Piero] Gasperini told me, these paths are worthwhile and will be remembered."
Reflecting on Fiorentina's latest European near miss, Italiano said he was confident his team would come out on top if the game was replayed.
He also said he regretted being unable to end a traumatic season with silverware, with the club being rocked by the death of general manager Joe Barone in March.
"I would play Olympiacos again tonight, we were all convinced we could beat them. We all believed we could reach the end of the cycle but we didn't succeed," Italiano said.
"The saddest moment was the loss of our director, the worst moment since I was in football. The love we had for him pushed us towards an emotional ending."
De Jong unsure on fitness ahead of Euro 2024
Frenkie de Jong is unsure whether he will be fit for the Netherlands' Euro 2024 opener against Poland as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury.
De Jong was included in Ronald Koeman's final 26-man squad for the Euros despite an ankle issue preventing him from featuring for Barcelona since April 21.
The midfielder was limited to just 30 appearances in all competitions through 2023-24, as the Blaugrana finished a distant second to Real Madrid in LaLiga and exited the Champions League at the quarter-final stage.
He is yet to join in with team training despite linking up with his international team-mates ahead of warm-up matches against Canada and Iceland.
Speaking to reporters after going through an individual session on Sunday, De Jong said: "I'm not fit yet, so I can't say I'm doing well.
"The ankle is fine in itself but it just needs to recover properly because it shouldn't become something chronic.
"I'm not doing anything with the team yet. I am doing physio and recovery training, individual training.
"We just have to wait and see how the ankle goes. Then we will see when I can join in."
Asked if he expected to face Poland in the Oranje's Group D opener on June 16, De Jong said: "That is always the question.
"If you are not completely fit now and are not training with the group, then the question is always when and if you will make it. No one knows exactly.
"I really cannot say when. That's not because I don't want to and know it myself. It's just difficult to say."
Euro 2024 will be the Netherlands' 11th participation at UEFA's flagship international tournament, and they won the competition when it was last hosted solely in Germany, beating the Soviet Union in the 1988 final.
Atalanta 2-3 Fiorentina: Scalvini injured as La Dea miss chance to finish third
Italy defender Giorgio Scalvini was forced off injured as Atalanta failed to secure a third-place finish in Serie A on Sunday, being substituted late on in a 3-2 loss to Fiorentina.
The Europa League winners faced the Europa Conference League runners-up in Bergamo one week after the rest of the league played their final games of 2023-24, with the teams unable to meet before now due to their European commitments.
A victory would have taken Gian Piero Gasperini's team – who were guaranteed a top-four finish – above Juventus into third, but Andrea Belotti put them behind within six minutes.
Ademola Lookman raced clear to equalise with a dinked finish within six further minutes, but Nicolas Gonzalez's fine volley soon re-established the Viola's lead.
Scalvini drilled in a terrific shot to pull Atalanta level again shortly after the hour mark, but his game would later end in tears as he was helped from the field with an apparent knee issue – a major concern for Italy less than two weeks out from their Euro 2024 opener.
Belotti had put Fiorentina back in the lead following a goalmouth scramble on the stroke of half-time, and Atalanta were unable to force a leveller in the second period as their fine season ended on a flat note.
Data Debrief: Thrilling end to Serie A season
Sunday's game – the final Serie A contest of 2023-24 – saw more first-half goals scored than any other match in the competition this term. Belotti got two of the five, and he now has seven goal involvements (six goals, one assist) in his last six league games against Atalanta.
The result is just a minor inconvenience for La Dea, though. They have finished in Serie A's top four for just the fifth time in their history, previously doing so in 2016-17 (fourth), 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 (all third).
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