A settled Harry Kane is best for England, says Gareth Southgate ahead of quiet summer for Tottenham striker

Gareth Southgate believes England can benefit from Harry Kane being settled and happy at Tottenham.

Kane has enjoyed a strong end to the season at Spurs and Standard Sport reported earlier in the spring that he is open to talks over a new contract after firing the club to the Champions League.

That is quite the change from this time last year, when the striker was the centre of a transfer saga involving Manchester City.

It rumbled on all summer, but Kane ended up staying put and Southgate believes England can reap the benefits now.

“He seems very happy, his football is good,” he said. “[Tottenham] have qualified for the Champions League as well so when you’re a player you want to be involved in the biggest possible matches.

“I think whenever a player is settled and happy it makes a huge difference to the way they play.”

Kane struggled for form at the start of the season, but he found his feet again under Antonio Conte.

The 28-year-old admitted it has been a tough campaign and he is looking forward to a break after this run of four England games, which begin on Saturday in Hungary.

“I am looking forward to playing four games with England, first and foremost, and hopefully picking up some good results and getting off to a good start in this Nations League,” said Kane.

“Then I am looking forward to having a few weeks’ break. It has been a tough season, a long season. A lot of ups and downs along the way.

“A great way to finish the season. A great way to finish the season, of course, [qualifying for] the Champions League. My main focus now is finishing strongly with England and having a nice break with the family.

“Whenever you finishing strongly with your club there is always a freer mind going into the international stage. Obviously, last summer we had a major European competition, a large tournament. So of course you have different feelings towards that than maybe what you would towards the Nations League games.

“It was a fantastic summer last year in terms of the tournament. It ended obviously very disappointingly, but going into these games I feel confident, I feel free.

“We had a good finish as a team towards the end of the season and I had a good season personally, which is always great. So, yeah, I am looking forward to carrying that on into these games. Then, as I touched on earlier, getting a nice break over the summer.”