‘The money’ – Dyche spoke of a failed bid for Harry Kane ahead of Everton’s clash with Tottenham

Sean Dyche has shared that he once attempted to sign Harry Kane for Burnley, but was unsuccessful due to Tottenham Hotspur’s chairman Daniel Levy setting an unaffordable price for the transfer, writes the LiverpoolEcho.

Kane, who recently became England’s all-time top scorer, will be playing at Goodison Park on Monday night. The Tottenham forward scored his 54th goal for England during a Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy, and later added his 55th goal in a match against Ukraine at Wembley last weekend. So far this season, Kane has scored 23 times for Spurs in all competitions.

As he approaches the final year of his contract, Harry Kane is reportedly open to discussing a new deal with Tottenham, but the club has not yet initiated that process due to recent chaos, including the departure of manager Antonio Conte. Everton manager Sean Dyche has shared how Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy priced Burnley out of a move for Kane in the past.

Speaking ahead of Monday’s game, Dyche revealed that he had a chance encounter with Kane and his family on holiday where they chatted about life and football, but nothing more serious. Despite this, Kane has continued to perform well for Tottenham, scoring 23 times in all competitions so far this season.

“I have then seen him at various functions, he’s been very generous with getting me some shirts as I back a few charities and stuff. He’s been generous.

“You just get a feel for people, forget about footballers, just for people, and he’s a top fella, in my opinion, the way he conducts himself and goes about it.”

Dyche continued: “There was a reason, by the way, don’t think it was when he got 20 goals a season because it wasn’t then.

“It was when he’d been on loan at Norwich and Leicester and it hadn’t quite gone as well. I just knew his background from the lads at Millwall, you see, because of my connection at Millwall and they all loved him.

“A fantastic, top young pro. I think he was only 18, and you know Millwall is a tough place to go and play when you are younger. He handled it fantastically.

“I had always had him in the background of my mind. I just wondered after he had had a couple of soft loans whether they were ready to do something.

“They weren’t because they had obviously seen what he could do and the rest is history. Fair play to them. I just made a phone call, but even then the numbers were too big for Burnley at that time, as you can imagine.

“It was just the timing and the money. That is sometimes the way it is. It wasn’t just me, there were lots of people out there thinking [the same] because he was such a good young player.”