Tottenham Hotspur

Kane put the uncertainty over his future to one side to produce a classic display of predatory finishing in what could prove to be his final appearance in Spurs’ colours.

Bayern are reported to have lodged their latest offer for Kane on Friday and an apparent self-imposed deadline of midnight was set by the German club, but there has been no further news on the outcome of that bid and Kane grabbed a hat-trick in 55 minutes of a 5-1 friendly win over Shakhtar.

Kane added another goal in the 79th-minute before he left the pitch a minute later to a standing ovation following more chants of ‘he’s one of our own’ and at the conclusion of the clash the club’s record goal-scorer walked around the pitch to clap all four corners of the ground in what felt a significant moment.

“We know there’s one deadline and that’s the end of the transfer window,” Postecoglou pointed out.

“Beyond that, I’m in open dialogue with Harry and with the club on a regular basis. I’ve said to them that if the status quo changes then inform me.

“I don’t need to know about the comings and goings in between. I just want to deal with what’s in front of me because, irrespective of the outcome of that, I’m building a team here. I can’t wait (around) for a decision either way to get going.

“We don’t have the time or the luxury to do that. I’m working with what’s in front of me. You saw today that Harry certainly is invested in what we’re doing and we’ll keep on doing that unless something changes.”

Bayern have been public about their desire to sign Kane all summer, with their honorary president Uli Hoeness and president Herbert Hainer talking openly in the media last month about trying to sign the England captain.

Postecoglou added: “That’s up to Bayern to decide. If that’s the way they want to conduct things, it’s not up to me to judge that.

“It doesn’t affect me. I don’t sit there on a daily basis and worry about what other clubs are doing.

“I think what is factual right now is that he is a contracted player of our football club.

“I certainly wouldn’t talk about contracted players at other football clubs but I’m not at Bayern mate so they can go the way they want.”

While a lot of the focus on Sunday was on Kane, amongst the spectators at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was Wolfsburg centre-back Micky van de Ven.

Netherlands defender Van de Ven is scheduled to have a medical at Spurs’ training ground on Monday.

But asked about Van de Ven, Postecoglou replied: “It hasn’t been done yet, so it’s not right for me to talk about but there’s no doubt we need some bolstering in that central defensive area.

“Hopefully we’ll get one or two done in the next couple of days to bolster us in that area.”

While Van de Ven’s future looks certain to be at Tottenham, Kane’s club for this campaign remains up in the air.

Postecoglou refused to be drawn into the significance of Kane walking alone to applaud all four corners of the stadium at full-time.

“You are reading something into it, aren’t you,” he added.

“I don’t even know what’s in Harry’s mind, let alone anyone else’s. I think all these things will obviously play out over the next period, we’ll deal with what happens from there.

“From my perspective, I’ve got a team to build here. Today showed me that we’ve made some progress but there’s still a lot of work to do.

“There were areas today I wasn’t delighted with, so we need to make sure we focus on getting this team right. We’ll see what happens after that.

“He’s a fantastic striker, one of the world’s best. I think the way the team plays will help him as well. He loves scoring goals and you saw today we created a load of chances and he was the beneficiary of that.”

Son’s nation exited the tournament in the semi-final stage after a 2-0 loss to Jordan, which resulted in Jurgen Klinsmann being sacked on Friday.

A report this week revealed Son dislocated his finger the day before the last-four clash after the Spurs skipper was involved in an altercation with younger members of the South Korea squad, who had allegedly left a team dinner early to play ping-pong.

Son returned to club duty last Saturday with a key role off the bench in a 2-1 victory over Brighton, where his right fingers were taped up and Postecoglou talked up his leadership.

“From what I know of the incident, and I haven’t asked too much about it, it was Sonny being Sonny. Being a leader and when you’re a leader, sometimes you get in the firing line,” Postecoglou said.

“That’s what leadership is all about. Leadership is not about being popular and trying to make everybody happy, it’s about when you see something that you don’t feel is right then you stand up for it because it’s the best thing for the group. I see that in Sonny.

“Sometimes people are mistaken about Sonny because he’s such a positive guy, who whenever you see him is smiling and everyone has a real affection for him, but he wants to win.

“He doesn’t like standards slipping and I’ve seen him do that around here. If something is not right, he will say it.

“Sometimes it is not the popular thing to do. Sometimes that puts you in the firing line with the playing group and with coaches or the club, but as a leader if you think this is the right thing to do, then you should go strongly on it.

“Sonny by nature is a nice guy. He is very polite and very respectful but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a real winner and a guy who has high standards.

“There is a real discipline you need to last this long, especially in the Premier League, and that drive to have high standards transfers to leadership. The best (leaders) are the ones who are themselves because people respect that. When you try and be somebody else people see through that.”

Son will aim to keep Spurs out in front in the race for Champions League qualification at home to Wolves and should be back in the starting XI after his cameo against Brighton.

Postecoglou has lost full-backs Pedro Porro (muscle) and Destiny Udogie (knee) to minor injuries but has boosted options in midfield and attack.

Yves Bissouma, who started Tottenham’s first eight league fixtures, is primed to make his first club start since December 15 after missing the past two months through suspension and international commitments.

Postecoglou added: “It’s fair to say with Biss, he’s probably a little bit frustrated with the way the season has gone.

“Really early on I could see the way we played really suited him. He really thrived in that responsibility in that role.

“Look, he’s ready to go. He’s had a good week of training. Looking forward with him, Rodri (Bentancur), Madders (James Maddison) is now back, Lo Celso is now available, Skippy and Pierre (Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg).

“We’re looking really strong through there. Not just to start games; the ability for us to change games. I think that’s going to be a really big part of us having a strong finish to the season.”

Postecoglou has enjoyed an excellent start at Tottenham and they are joint-leaders of the Premier League after eight matches going into this month’s international break.

Optimism is rife at Spurs but their 58-year-old manager remains pessimistic about the state of football in Australia, despite his nation co-hosting a successful Women’s World Cup this summer where the Matildas finished fourth.

Postecoglou spent four years in charge of the Socceroos and – despite achieving plenty – he has given up hope of the sport cracking life Down Under with subtle digs aimed at governing body Football Australia ahead of Friday’s friendly clash in London.

Asked about his Asian Cup win on home soil in 2015, Postecoglou replied: “It didn’t make an impact back there and that was kind of my frustration.

“I don’t think that anything they can achieve… when you look at what the Matildas did at the World Cup, unbelievable but you still won’t see an influx of resources to the game. You won’t. I guarantee it.

“They’ll build stadiums and other codes will use them. I just don’t think the nation as a whole has that inside them to understand you can make an impact on the world of football but it requires a kind of nationalistic approach that I just don’t think Australians – at their core – are really interested in.

“There’s a couple of things. One of them is obviously the sporting landscape, where there’s some pretty strong codes there that have generationally dominated the landscape.

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“There’s Aussie Rules, that’s the indigenous sport of Australia. It’s kind of unique to them and they take great pride in protecting as their code. The rugby codes dominate.

“It’s very hard for football to make an impact in that space and I guess then the flipside of that is just how global the sport of football is.

“If I can compare that to a country like Japan, who also have the tyranny of distance and baseball’s pretty strong, they plant a lot of resources into football and you can see that’s making an impact. I don’t see Australia down that road.”

Japan was Postecoglou’s next destination when he walked away from the Socceroos job after he helped his country qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

The ex-Yokohama boss had managed Australia at the 2014 edition, but his departure seven months out from the global showpiece was a surprise and at the time he described the job as “taking a toll” both personally and professionally.

Postecoglou has been involved in coaching since 1996 and while he has taken the Premier League by storm so far, he does not expect his time at Tottenham to change the landscape of football in Australia.

“I don’t. I don’t know and maybe that’s just me, not being cynical, but I gave up that fight,” he explained.

“It’s a much easier space for me to live in because I was so frustrated for so long. It was my biggest frustration. One of my major drivers for doing what I did was to do that – to change football in Australia and that’s the reason I left.

“I felt I hadn’t made an impact at all. That’s easier for me to deal with than to think maybe I still can now with what I’m doing. I just think I’d be disappointed, so I’d prefer to think it’s not going to happen.

“I walked away from a World Cup. We qualified and I walked away. The reason I walked away was I just didn’t enjoy what I was doing.

“It’s not just doing the job and winning games of football, it’s got to be a higher purpose. My higher purpose in Australia was to change the game. I just don’t think that will happen.

“It was the right decision for me (to leave), it was the right decision for where I saw the next stage of my career and if I didn’t make that decision at that time, if I had waited until after the World Cup, I’ve got no doubt I wouldn’t be sitting here now.”

Postecoglou replied no when asked if he would manage Australia again and laughed off talk of replacing England chief Gareth Southgate.

He added: “England? Oh, come on mate. They’ve got a fantastic manager and I’m eight games into a Tottenham career. That’s how I think.”

A coaching journey spanning nearly three decades has taken the Australian from Melbourne to London via spells in Yokohama and Glasgow.

Success has followed the 57-year-old, but he is now tasked with a sizeable rebuilding job at Spurs, who have not won a trophy since 2008 and finished eighth in the Premier League last season.

“All I know is I love winning,” Postecoglou said during his first press conference in his new role. “I don’t do any job unless I think I can win. That’s going to be my intent.

“I’ve been fortunate in the past because I’ve had success but whenever I reflect on any job I’ve had, it’s not the success that I look back on, it’s the build that I look back on because I know it’s not always going to be smooth.

“There’s going to be plenty of doubters, which is when your belief and resolve gets doubted. Not just for me personally, but the whole club, the whole group and I love working through that, getting out the other side.

“That’s the biggest attraction for me in this position. Aside from being in a massive football club and the premier competition in the world… the opportunity to do something that people will see in many respects as insurmountable. I love that.”

Postecoglou struck all the right notes a month on from his June 6 appointment, having guided Celtic to five trophies in his two seasons in Scotland despite a rocky start to life in Glasgow.

He is now in charge of a club in desperate need of direction and a cultural reset after the spells of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte saw Tottenham move away from the attractive, attacking football often associated throughout their history.

Postecoglou recalled memories of watching Ricky Villa’s 1981 FA Cup winner and admitted the challenge of trying to bring back the glory days to Spurs was too great to turn down.

He added: “My wife knows better than anyone, I can’t resist a challenge.

“I’ve always gone with my gut on these things. I know when I’m at my best and I’m at my best when the challenge is the biggest. I thought this was a challenge that would fit all the things I’m looking to achieve.

“For me to come from where I’ve come from and be sitting here, I needed to have that instinct inside me to know when to move on because I’ve had to be faultless in my career to get to this point.

“That’s because no-one’s going to rate an Australian manager, are they? So, if I had any significant failures along the way, I was never going to get here. Part of that process is knowing that I need to keep moving to be at my best.

“Even if I’d stayed at a club for five years, I’d never be satisfied with where we’re at. I’d be looking to improve all the time.

“The key factor was there was an opportunity here to again make an impact at a football club, which I’ve tried to do at every club I’ve been at.”

Asked to recall his memories of Spurs teams, Postecoglou said: “I remember Ricky Villa and Ossie Ardiles, absolutely. I remember that FA Cup final.

“They were my best childhood memories, I’ve said it before, because it was me and my dad, 2am. That’s me as a young boy, sitting on a couch watching a game of football.

“Glenn Hoddle, an absolute master and those kind of players resonate around the world.

“There are plenty of teams and Tottenham players through that era that I have strong memories of in my childhood.

“I’ve had a lot of success in my career but it’s also been done on the back of playing a certain way.

“I dare say that was probably part of one of the biggest factors in the club appointing me, was that they saw that. That’s what I’m going to try and deliver.

“That seems to be the right fit for this club in terms of the fans’ expectations. We call it entertainment but also win games of football, score goals, be exciting. They don’t want to see their team sit back.

“There are different ways of winning but the intent for us will be to try and make sure this football club’s a compelling watch for everybody.”

Postecoglou is odds-on favourite to take over at Tottenham and refused to give any indication on whether he would be departing Celtic Park after making it five trophies in two seasons with a 3-1 Scottish Cup win over Inverness.

Many Celtic fans fear their manager is London-bound and he would not give any assurances to the contrary.

“I will say to them what I said to the players, let’s enjoy this,” he said. “I deserve to enjoy this, the people around me deserve to enjoy this.

“Whatever other people want to focus on and talk about, I am not going to miss enjoying this moment with this group of people but also I owe it to my family, my friends, all of those closest to me.

“Everyone works hard and makes sacrifices to enjoy these moments. I understand that other people who aren’t invested in it want to ask these questions but for me, right now, the most important thing is that we reflect and just be in the moment of creating something special.”

When it was pointed out that fans who are heavily-invested in Celtic are among those asking the questions, the 57-year-old said: “Yeah, but they deserve to enjoy this moment because, irrespective of what happens in the future, why would you not want to enjoy this moment just for what it is? It’s something historic.”

When asked if he anticipated being in Glasgow next season, the former Australia head coach said: “I anticipate enjoying this moment for the next 24-48 hours, as long as I can, before someone drags me away and takes my attention away from enjoying something that’s been hard-earned.

“The reality is, there’s probably players in that dressing room who won’t be here next year. That’s the nature of football.

“But I want them to enjoy it, I am going to enjoy it, and that’s all I am going to focus on until someone grabs me by the collar and tells me that I have to answer certain questions.”

Kane left Spurs on the eve of the season to join Bayern Munich in a deal that could rise to £120million in add-ons and which had been expected to derail a club that only managed to finish eighth in the Premier League last term.

The opposite has occurred with Postecoglou able to mastermind an unbeaten start in the top flight that has sent Tottenham to the summit and posed the question are the north London club better without their ex-talisman Kane, who scored 278 times in 430 appearances for his boyhood team.

Postecoglou cited Kane’s final outing in Lilywhite – a four-goal salvo in a friendly against Shakhtar Donetsk on August 6 – as evidence against the aforementioned rhetoric, although acknowledged the sale of the England captain has changed the dynamic of his attack, which is now led by the likes of Son Heung-min, Richarlison, Dejan Kulusevski and new signing Brennan Johnson.

“What I’ve been trying to explain is that individuals change the way you play,” the Spurs boss said ahead of a Friday night clash at Crystal Palace.

“I’m not into this commentary that we’re a better team without Harry because the last game Harry played for us, he did alright in our system when he scored four goals.

“It’s fair to say we would have been able to squeeze him in somewhere – and I’m being sarcastic there – but him not being there just allows us to bring different individuals into the team and they change the dynamic.

“Again, while the way I want my teams to play has a really clear structure, what I try to do is create a balanced squad where individuals can change the dynamics of it.

“Having Sonny as our nine is different from having Harry or even Richy as our nine. Having Deki as a winger or having Brennan Johnson as a winger changes it even if the structure is the same.

“Not having Harry there does change us as a team because we’re using different individuals, but if Harry was still here the structure would be the same and we’d have the same fundamentals of trying to dominate opposition, press the opposition, all those kind of things would still be there.

“Ultimately, I don’t want to suppress the qualities they have, I want to bring out the best of them within the structure we have.”

Tottenham captain Son has shouldered the burden in Kane’s absence with seven goals, while new number 10 James Maddison has immediately hit the ground running in N17.

Maddison scored for the third time on Monday night against Fulham and has also provided five assists to quickly become the team’s fulcrum.

Postecoglou said of the former Leicester playmaker: “He’s very intuitive around the game and at understanding the game.

“For all the players we try to provide a framework of education where we give them information to improve them as individuals, but some of them take them in a more broader concept of the team aspect and Madders is one of those.

“He takes the information but not just from an individual aspect but how it can help the team. The goal he scored the other night came not from his individual ability but just from him working hard.

“He pressed two or three times. That’s a conscious thing he has to do. That’s not just about him being a good footballer, that’s him as an individual saying I need to do this because I think the team will benefit and ultimately, he benefitted from it because he scored the goal.

“But if he didn’t someone else would have, like we did for Sonny’s goal, so I think he’s one of these players that looks at it from a broader perspective, not just how it can help him as an individual but how it can help the team evolve into the team we want to be.”

The Feyenoord defender was born in Argentina but also holds an Italian passport.

Senesi remains uncapped and is said to be a target for Italy ahead of the June international break, in which they will play Argentina as part of the Finalissima between the European Championship winners and Copa America champions.

Lionel Scaloni has moved first by including Senesi in his preliminary squad, however, named on Friday.

And Senesi could get his opportunity as Cristian Romero, also called up by Scaloni, has been ruled out for the rest of the club season with Tottenham.

"We understood in the last few days that Romero had a serious injury and has finished this season," Spurs coach Antonio Conte said. "There are only two games to go and he has no time to recover for these two games."

After playing Italy at Wembley on June 1, Argentina also have a friendly on June 11 against Brazil, whom they must play again in a replayed World Cup qualifier.

Argentina squad in full:

Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Juan Musso (Atalanta), Geronimo Rulli (Villarreal), Franco Armani (River Plate); Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Nahuel Molina (Udinese), Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Lucas Martinez Quarta (Fiorentina), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), German Pezzella (Real Betis), Marcos Senesi (Feyenoord), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martinez (Ajax), Nehuen Perez (Udinese), Nicolas Tagliafico (Ajax), Marcos Acuna (Sevilla); Guido Rodriguez (Real Betis), Leandro Paredes (Paris Saint-Germain), Nicolas Dominguez (Bologna), Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton and Hove Albion), Rodrigo De Paul (Atletico Madrid), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Giovani Lo Celso (Villarreal), Papu Gomez (Sevilla), Nicolas Gonzalez (Fiorentina), Lucas Ocampos (Sevilla), Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain), Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa); Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain), Angel Correa (Atletico Madrid), Paulo Dybala (Juventus), Joaquin Correa (Inter), Julian Alvarez (River Plate), Lucas Alario (Bayer Leverkusen), Lautaro Martinez (Inter).

The PA news agency understands Tottenham will play Premier League rivals Newcastle at Melbourne Cricket Ground on May 22.

Newcastle’s FA Cup exit last weekend opened the door for the Magpies to face Spurs in a post-season friendly, which will see the two clubs jet off for Australia immediately after their final league game of the season on May 19.

A decision on the squads taken Down Under will be made nearer to the time, but Southgate could see three players potentially in his Euro 2024 squad fly halfway across the world days before they link up on international duty.

Tottenham’s James Maddison and Newcastle attacker Anthony Gordon were named in the England squad for the March friendlies with Brazil and Belgium, while Kieran Trippier is a strong candidate to feature in this summer’s European Championships in Germany.

It is possible all three could jet off to Australia for the post-season friendly and days after they return to England they will be required to join Southgate’s squad for a training camp ahead of Euro 2024.

The Football Association has been approached for comment.

Bale's Tottenham team-mate Matt Doherty and Stoke winger James McClean returned positive COVID-19 tests after a 1-0 Nations League win for Wales at Cardiff City Stadium.

Doherty, who will now miss Spurs’ huge Premier League game at home to Manchester City on Saturday, had an embrace with Bale after the full-time whistle, while the pair reportedly swapped shirts when they talked after leaving the pitch.

No Wales players have tested positive ahead of their match against Finland on Wednesday, but Bale admitted he was worried the virus may have been passed on ahead of a key period of games.

Asked about his contact with Doherty, on-loan Spurs forward Bale said: "It's a slight concern for everyone when you have been playing someone [who has tested positive] and in close contact on the field, but maybe not long enough to catch it.

"Obviously you’re a bit wary, but it is good news that everyone has come back and tested negative and now we can concentrate on the game.

"Me and Ben Davies [Wales and Spurs defender] spoke to him [Doherty] briefly and I think he is doing fine, he’s got mild symptoms.

"Hopefully he recovers fine, doesn't have any problems and will be back playing as soon as possible."

Bale says the Football Association of Wales deserves great credit for the protocols it has put in place.

He said: "There's only three or four to a table, making sure we are socially distanced, going at different times to get food, wearing gloves to serve our food, no sharing rooms anymore.

"They have gone to great measures to make sure we are safe. It is important to take it seriously."

Bale's Tottenham team-mate Matt Doherty and Stoke winger James McClean returned positive COVID-19 tests after a 1-0 Nations League win for Wales at Cardiff City Stadium.

No Wales players have tested positive ahead of their match against Finland on Wednesday, but Bale admitted he was worried the virus may have been passed on.

"It's a slight concern for everyone when you have been playing someone [who has tested positive] and in close contact on the field, but maybe not long enough to catch it," said the on-loan Spurs forward.

"Obviously you’re a bit wary, but it is good news that everyone has come back and tested negative and now we can concentrate on the game.

"Me and Ben Davies [Wales and Spurs defender] spoke to him [Doherty] briefly and I think he is doing fine, he’s got mild symptoms."

Bale says the Football Association of Wales deserves great credit for the protocols it has put in place.

He said: "There's only three or four to a table, making sure we are socially distanced, going at different times to get food, wearing gloves to serve our food, no sharing rooms anymore.

"They have gone to great measures to make sure we are safe. It is important to take it seriously."

The apparent act of racist abuse came as Richarlison celebrated scoring in a 5-1 win over Tunisia at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Tuesday.

Richarlison expressed outrage after the game and called for stiff punishments to be imposed, while appearing to doubt such strong action would be taken.

The likes of his Spurs team-mate Harry Kane and former England captain Rio Ferdinand have offered their support, demanding action is taken, and now Tottenham boss Conte says there must be heavy sanctions.

"I think we have to take the good part of the situation. Richy played with the national team, scored goals," Conte said.

"Then what happened is incredible because in 2022 to witness this type of situation is embarrassing for everybody.

"For sure I hope these people are banned from football for the rest of their lives.

"It's a very disappointing situation to have to make a comment on this. I want to take the best part of the game from Richy. He scored goals and he enjoyed playing with Brazil."

Tottenham said in a statement on Wednesday the club were "disgusted" by the abuse, adding: "This has no place in football, or anywhere. We stand with you, Richy."

Hansi Flick's team won a Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League treble in 2019-20, seeing off Paris Saint-Germain in the final of the European football's premier competition in August.

Robert Lewandowski and Joshua Kimmich were the only Bayern players to make the long-list last year, and those two again feature this time around.

Lewandowski scored a remarkable 55 goals across all competitions for Bayern last term, and has hit the ground running this season, netting 15 times to take his tally for the year so far to 70.

Manuel Neuer enjoyed something of a resurgence last term and heads up a list of 10 goalkeepers.

David Alaba was last on the list in 2017 but returns after starring at centre-back alongside Jerome Boateng, who also makes his first appearance in three years.

Thomas Muller is back after a four-year absence, while Alphonso Davies, Serge Gnabry and Leon Goretzka are all included for the first time.

Philippe Coutinho was something of a bit-part player though did score twice and provide an assist in a thumping 8-2 win over Barcelona – where he has now returned after a loan spell in Munich – in the Champions League semi-finals, while Thiago Alcantara, now of Liverpool, also features.

The list, which is based on players who received the most votes from other professionals, also includes 11 new faces.

It is no shock to see Borussia Dortmund's scoring sensation Erling Haaland make the cut, while Manchester United playmaker Bruno Fernandes is also involved.

Dele Alli, meanwhile, is something of a surprise inclusion.

The Tottenham midfielder has fallen out of favour under Jose Mourinho, making only two Premier League appearances, with his only top-flight start coming in the opening day defeat to Everton – in total, Alli has played just 66 league minutes this term.

Premier League champions Liverpool have eight players on the list, including new signing Thiago.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are included among 15 forwards, while Dani Alves is the only player on the list not to play in Europe's top five leagues.

The 2020 FIFA FIFPRO Men's World 11 will be made up of the goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders and three attackers who receive the most votes, with the final spot going to the highest-ranking outfielder outside of the top nine.

Roberto Firmino scored the first-half winner as the unbeaten Reds recorded their 20th top-flight victory in 21 games to take their tally to 61 points this term.

In the three-points-for-a-win era, that is the biggest points haul any team in Europe's top five leagues has ever managed after 21 games.

The likes of Barcelona, PSG, Juventus and Bayern Munich have enjoyed spells as all-conquering giants in their respective domestic leagues, yet none of those sides have been able to achieve such a total at the same stage.

In avoiding defeat, Klopp's side also extended their unbeaten Premier League run to 38 games, the equivalent of a full season.

They have accrued 104 points in that time, winning 33 times and drawing on five occasions, bettering the previous record totals Manchester City and Chelsea (both 102) managed across 38-match spells in 2017-18 and 2005 respectively.

Bale confirmed his decision in a statement on Instagram on Monday, saying he has taken an “opportunity for a new adventure."

The former Southampton, Tottenham, Real Madrid and Los Angeles FC forward called time on a 17-year playing career, in which his honours included three LaLiga titles, the Champions League five times and the Club World Cup on three occasions.

Bale’s final appearance came in 3-0 defeat to England as Wales were knocked out of the group stage of the World Cup in Qatar.

Fernandes made an instant impact at Old Trafford after joining from Sporting CP in January and his effort from the penalty spot in Friday's 1-1 draw at Tottenham was his third goal in six Premier League appearances.

Pogba won the penalty and his introduction from the bench after the hour mark injected United with fresh impetus.

It was the France international's first outing since Boxing Day in a season ruined by foot injuries, but Fernandes is hopeful their understanding will grow in tandem under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

"When we were training in groups I was in the group with Paul, so to find the connection is easier," he told Sky Sports.

"But I found a good connection with everyone and the most important thing is the team. 

"I think Paul thinks the same [as me] and we are happy. Paul won the penalty, I kicked it. The most important thing is the team. It doesn't matter who scores, or the assist, or anything. 

"As a team we need to look for the Champions League. We need to try to be close to try to catch the guys who are in front.

"Unfortunately we are [only] one point closer, but they need to play. We'll see."

United are fifth in the table but will fall five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea with nine matches remaining if Frank Lampard's side are able to beat relegation-threatened Aston Villa on Sunday.

Bayern remain intent on prising Kane away from Spurs and are expected to imminently lodge a new bid for the 30-year-old England captain, who is now into the final 12 months of his contract with the Premier League club.

Levy is reported to have met with Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen and technical director Marco Neppe in London, while Kane trained with the rest of the Spurs squad to continue preparations ahead of Sunday’s pre-season friendly at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.

The scrutiny surrounding Kane’s future does not show any signs of going away, with the German club public about their interest all summer.

Bayern honorary president Uli Hoeness claimed last month personal terms had been agreed between Kane and the Bundesliga champions, while two bids for the forward were reportedly turned down in July.

Spurs have offered Kane a new contract, which is a significant increase on his current £200,000-a-week terms, but no decision will be made on the new deal while speculation over his future continues, the PA news agency understands.

Kane is not the only experienced Tottenham player with uncertainty hanging over them, with captain Hugo Lloris so far unable to secure a move away.

The former France goalkeeper was allowed to remain at the club’s training ground in Enfield to “explore prospective transfer opportunities” while Ange Postecoglou’s team toured Perth, Bangkok and Singapore last month.

However, 36-year-old Lloris is no closer to a departure from Spurs and one potential avenue has closed after Paris St Germain signed young Spanish goalkeeper Arnau Tenas on Sunday.

Lloris was one of several members of Tottenham’s bloated squad expected to leave, but Giovani Lo Celso looks set to be thrown a chance to turnaround his career with the club.

Lo Celso signed for Spurs in summer 2019 for £55million but, after playing under a string of managers, had spent the past 18 months away from north London on loan at Villarreal.

Argentina international Lo Celso has caught the eye of new boss Postecoglou this summer, though, and after scoring in friendlies against West Ham and Lion City Sailors, the midfielder is likely to remain part of the squad moving into the Premier League season.

Offers will be listened to for various other senior players and young duo Alfie Devine and Dane Scarlett are being lined up for loan moves away.

Devine and Scarlett were part of a large Tottenham contingent for the Asia-Pacific pre-season tour, but it is felt the best next step for their development would be to secure a loan away from Spurs for the 2023-24 campaign.

Sunday’s clash pitted fourth against fifth, with the hosts knowing victory would move them eight points clear in the last Premier League spot guaranteed a place at Europe’s top table.

But Villa collapsed in the second half against Spurs, who celebrated James Maddison and Brennan Johnson goals before home captain John McGinn saw red for a reckless challenge on Destiny Udogie.

Son Heung-min and substitute Timo Werner wrapped up a 4-0 rout in stoppage time, meaning Spurs are now just two points behind fourth-placed Villa with a game in hand.

“The whole game I was really pleased with,” boss Postecoglou said. “The way we handled the whole day, to be honest.

“Obviously we knew it was a significant game and a tough venue, good opponent, the atmosphere here behind their team.

“The first half we did well to make them work hard more than anything else. They had to try and contain us and the threats they had we snuffed out.

“I got a sense towards the back end of the first half that they were beginning to already tire a little bit. That was the message at half-time – just persevere, stay calm, play our football, maintain our intensity, which was going to be important.

“And we did, we got off to a flier and then the quality of our football was excellent to see out the game.”

Put to Postecoglou that it was quite the swing avoiding an eight-point gap and instead cutting Villa’s advantage to two, he said: “I guess so.

“I said before the game that I still think there’s a significant part of the season to go. There’s still 11 games for us anyway.

“There’s so many challenging games and every game will have meaning between now and the end of the year. Not just for us, for every team.

“There’s a fight at the top, there’s a fight down the bottom, there’s a fight in the middle somewhere, so we’re all fighting for something.

“If we had lost today, I don’t think that would have discounted us from whatever other people put on as targets for us.

“I’ve been consistent saying what’s important for me is our growth as a team and I thought we saw that today. It was another positive step forward.”

Postecoglou did not seem overly concerned about the injury that forced off Micky van de Ven just before Spurs’ opener as the impressive centre-back “does not think it is too significant”.

Villa have a Europa Conference League last-16 second leg at home to Ajax to contend with before returning to Premier League action at Fulham next weekend.

Unai Emery wants to refocus on Thursday’s match and move on from a second half he called a “very bad day in the office”.

On McGinn’s red card, the Villa boss said: “John McGinn has played here and been strong, comfortable, very passionate and he’s a not a player doing things with bad intentions.

“I think the red card maybe could be a red card but not bad intentions.

“I didn’t speak a lot with the players, only I told them ‘keep going, move on, think of Thursday and West Ham on Sunday’ – and with John the same.”

Manchester United, Milan and Paris Saint-Germain are among the major European outfits who are due to farewell high-profile players when free agency comes into force on June 30.

Domestic leagues across the world appear increasingly likely to run beyond that deadline, meaning sides up and down the divisions could be forced to renegotiate deals beyond the typical expiry date.

It remains to be seen how governing bodies will approach the unfamiliar territory but Edinson Cavani, Mario Gotze and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be watching closely like dozens more across Europe's top five leagues.

These are the stars and solid supporting cast members whose contract situations are worth monitoring in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

LaLiga

Athletic Bilbao: Aritz Aduriz (retiring), Benat, Mikel San Jose
Atletico Madrid: Antonio Adan
Espanyol: Ander Iturraspe
Granada: Roberto Soldado
Real Valladolid: Hatem Ben Arfa
Sevilla: Ever Banega (joining Al Shabab at end of contract), Nolito
Valencia: Ezequiel Garay
Villarreal: Santi Cazorla 

Premier League

Bournemouth: Ryan Fraser
Burnley: Joe Hart
Chelsea: Olivier Giroud, Pedro, Willian
Liverpool: Adam Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne
Manchester City: David Silva (confirmed he will leave at end of contract)
Manchester United: Nemanja Matic, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Odion Ighalo (loan ends)
Newcastle United: Matty Longstaff
Tottenham: Jan Vertonghen, Japhet Tanganga

Serie A

Atalanta: Jose Luis Palomino
Hellas Verona: Fabio Borini
Inter: Ashley Young
Juventus: Gianluigi Buffon
Milan: Lucas Biglia, Giacomo Bonaventura, Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Napoli: Jose Callejon, Dries Mertens

Bundesliga

Bayer Leverkusen: Charles Aranguiz
Borussia Dortmund: Mario Gotze, Lukasz Piszczek
Hertha Berlin: Salomon Kalou
Schalke: Benjamin Stambouli
Wolfsburg: Robin Knoche

Ligue 1

Lille: Loic Remy
Monaco: Jemerson
Nice: Walter Benitez, Arnaud Lusamba
Paris Saint-Germain: Edinson Cavani, Thomas Meunier, Tanguy Kouassi, Layvin Kurzawa, Thiago Silva

Fresh from his move to Camp Nou in the transfer window, Lewandowski will return to familiar surroundings with Barcelona and Bayern Munich – who boast 11 Champions League titles between them – drawn in a tough Group C along with Inter.

And another reunion will see Haaland come up against Borussia Dortmund, whom he left to join Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. They find themselves in Group G alongside Sevilla and Copenhagen.

Another heavyweight clash will take place in Group H, with Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus set to lock horns.

The pair were left out of Chelsea's starting line-up for Wednesday's EFL Cup semi-final first leg against Tottenham and will now serve a period of self-isolation.

Kante has featured in 17 of the Blues' 31 matches this season, while Silva – who signed a one-year contract extension on Monday – has been used 22 times.

It is the second time in a little over three months that France international Kante has tested positive for coronavirus.

Asked about the duo's absence from the side to face Tottenham, Tuchel told Sky Sports: "Unfortunately, Thiago and N'Golo have tested positive.

"It's huge for us because they are two huge players. We had the last information today in the morning, so it is quite challenging, but we will push.

"The guys who are here have our trust and our belief.

"We will push things to the maximum. The situation hasn't changed since some weeks ago, it's not the moment to repeat it, from here we are looking for solutions. 

"I have trust in the guys who play and hopefully we put in a strong performance."

As well as facing Tottenham over two legs, Chelsea also take on Chesterfield in the FA Cup and face Manchester City in the Premier League over the next 10 days.

Romelu Lukaku started the tie at Stamford Bridge, three days on from being left out of Chelsea's squad to face Liverpool after giving a controversial interview.

The striker made a public apology on Tuesday and was back involved against Spurs, with the Blues eyeing a first-leg advantage to take into next week's reverse fixture.

Chelsea have progressed from five of their last seven EFL Cup semi-final ties, failing only in 2012-13 (v Swansea City) and 2017-18 (v Arsenal) in that run.

Since winning three games in a row against Chelsea between 2018 and 2019, Tottenham were winless in their last eight against the Blues in all competitions prior to Wednesday's game.