August 26, (THEWILL) – With Harry Kane’s transfer drama behind them, Tottenham Hotspur go into the reverse fixture of their Europa Conference League play-off tie against Pacos de Ferreira on Thursday evening with Kane returned as captain of the side at their Tottenham Hotspur grounds.
All summer-long, the England captain had long been linked with a move to Manchester City, but a transfer failed to materialise before he confirmed on Wednesday that he would be staying at Spurs for the season to bring an end to the drama.
New manager Nuno Espirito Santo has now handed the club’s record goal scorer his first start of the season as Kane gets his captain armband back and the north London side seek to overturn a 1-0 deficit against their Portuguese opponents in the Europa Conference League playoffs.
In the first leg, where Santo fielded a mostly B side squad, a first-half strike from Lucas Silva handed Pacos the win in Portugal. This time around, it is not that rotated Spurs team that fell to that embarrassing defeat that Pacos de Ferreira will contend against as Kane and Lucas Moura start and Eric Dier is in centre back.
The 28-year-old Kane is the record goalscorer for Spurs in Europe with 38 goals. That tally takes him 15 clear of the previous record-setter Jermain Defoe.
Gareth Southgate has also included Kane in England’s squad for their upcoming World Cup 2022 qualifiers as the only player from Spurs to receive a call-up.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
