‘I will be staying at Tottenham this summer’: Harry Kane makes dramatic transfer U-turn, pledges future to Spurs

One of the summer's most drawn-out transfer sagas appears to have reached a conclusion after England captain Harry Kane confirmed that he will stay at Tottenham and is "100 percent focused" on helping the team win silverware.

Kane had been subject to a transfer tug-of-war between his boyhood club and Manchester City, with Spurs' notoriously penny-pinching chairman Daniel Levy refusing to budge from his reported £150 million ($205.5 million) asking price for the club's best player of the modern era. 

The player himself had expressed interest in what would have been a record-breaking transfer between English clubs after reportedly growing weary of Spurs' inability to win trophies throughout his tenure with the team – purportedly leading to a series of bust-ups with Tottenham after the disgruntled goalscorer returned late to preseason training, drawing considerable ire from the Tottenham hierarchy.

Kane made his return to Spurs first-team duties last weekend when he came on as a second-half substitute at Wolves, where he was mostly greeted with applause by the Tottenham faithful – and it seems that his welcome on Sunday has convinced him to continue his stay with the London club.

"It was incredible to see the reception from the Spurs fans on Sunday and to read some of the messages of support I've had in the last few weeks," wrote Kane on social media on Wednesday afternoon.

"I will be staying at Tottenham this summer and will be 100 percent focused on helping the team achieve success."

This news will come as a blow to Pep Guardiola and Manchester City, who have openly pursued Kane for much of the summer and are badly in need of a new goalscorer in their ranks following the departure of club legend Sergio Aguero to Barcelona.

Recent reports in the media have suggested that Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo has been offered to City – a possibility that will likely rear its head before the transfer window slams shut in the coming days.

As for Kane, it remains to be seen if a true accord has been struck with Tottenham or if Wednesday's statement is more of a 'stay of execution' for the transfer talk ahead of it being resurrected once more next summer.

The England captain had reportedly entered into a so-called 'gentleman's agreement' with Levy which, as Kane is said to have understood it, meant he would be granted permission to leave if a mammoth offer was received by a Champions League club. 

One potential avenue would be for Kane to renegotiate his contract to have a release clause inserted, such as the one that City activated to push through their £100 million ($137 million) signing of Kane's England teammate, Jack Grealish. 

For now, at least, Kane will be available to new Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo during his first campaign with the club. But despite Kane's public renewal of his vows with Spurs, it still seems possible – or, indeed, likely – that Nuno's first season might also be Kane's last.