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Kane named England captain as Tottenham insist he is not for sale

Harry Kane has been named England captain – and he also won’t be leaving Tottenham
Harry Kane has been named England captain – and he also won’t be leaving Tottenham

Harry Kane has been named as England’s captain for Thursday’s World Cup qualifier against Slovenia at Wembley just hours after his club Tottenham ruled out selling their in-form striker.

Kane, who netted 13 goals in September, had emerged as a reported £177m target for Real Madrid on Wednesday morning but Spurs have acted quickly to scotch the rumour.

A source close to Yahoo Sport said: “Tottenham will not entertain any discussion with any club regarding the sale of Harry Kane.”

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Kane will captain his country for the third time as England seek the win that will ensure qualification for next year’s World Cup finals in Russia.

He has been in incredible recent form and has apparently attracted the interest of the European and Spanish champions – but he is regarded as integral to the future of Tottenham’s success and the club will be very reluctant to let him go.

England boss Gareth Southgate is yet to decide who will be England’s captain for the World Cup after handing Kane the armband.

Southgate said: “He’s certainly someone whose leadership qualities are invaluable to us as a team and he’s clearly in a very good moment in his form,” Southgate said of Kane.

“We really enjoy working with him and I’ve known him a long time. He’s improved and is maturing all the time as well.”

When asked who England’s captain will be for the long term, Southgate added: “I haven’t decided yet.

“The important thing for me was when we looked at the group of players at the start, we saw potential leaders but lads who hadn’t had experience of leading and how do we allow for that to happen, and how do we give them a feel of it, and I think that’s worked well over the last few months.

“All of those experiences will stand them in good stead. Different situations, different opportunities to be in front of people, sharing a responsibility of team. I think that’s key.”