Conte’s Kane claims provoke spiky response from Pochettino

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino has told Antonio Conte to ‘show more respect’ after the Chelsea manager labelled Harry Kane his “dream signing”.

Conte has this summer spent £58million signing Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid, but when questioned about who is ideal signing would be, the Chelsea boss talked up the attributes of England hitman Kane.

Kane finished last season as the Premier League’s top scorer with 29 goals and Conte believed the Tottenham man is worth “at least £100million” in the modern market.

But despite his comments intended as flattery, Tottenham counterpart Pochettino has given a spiky response.

“That makes me laugh, because I don’t know why people are so focused on our players and our club,” said Pochettino.

“At the moment, so far we know him best.

“Our ambition is not the same as a lot of clubs that sign and spend a lot of money.

“I respect every single philosophy and, for me, the most important thing is to show more respect.

“I like to show respect to another way and the people that behave in another way, only I expect the same from the people that compete with us.”

Tottenham and Chelsea share one of the Premier League’s fiercest rivalries and it’s likely that Conte’s claims, and Pochettino’s response, may have slightly fanned the flames ahead of the new season.

Speaking of his admiration for Kane, Conte had said: “Tottenham is a really good squad if they are able to keep all the players. For me, Kane, now, is one of the best strikers in the world.

“If I had to buy one striker I would go to Kane. He is a complete striker. He is strong physically, with the ball, without the ball, he fights and he’s strong in the air and acrobatic on the right and the left.”

Conte even went as far as to suggest that signing Kane would cost a world-record fee:

“He’s a complete player. He’s one of the top strikers in the world. If you go to buy Kane now it would be at least £100m. At least. For me, if I see this price for a striker I know for sure he’s a big striker.”