Thomas Frank makes Harry Kane transfer confession and is 'well aware' of Luca Williams-Barnett talent

Thomas Frank has made it very clear that he would like England captain Harry Kane back in a Tottenham shirt and has also spoken about the club's next potential homegrown star Luca Williams-Barnett.

Kaneis believed to have a release clause in his Bayern Munich contract, which will be worth £56.7million next summer if the striker activates it by informing the German side, before the end of January, of his intention to leave. Ex-Tottenhamchairman Daniel Levy confirmed after Kane's sale in 2023 that the north London club also inserted a buy-back clause into the deal and that gives them first option on the prolific forward.

With Kane just 47 goals off Alan Shearer's Premier League record of 260, the 32-year-old England skipper has always been expected to return to England at some point.

There are said to be fears within Bayern that after three seasons they could lose Kane, who has netted a remarkable 98 goals in 103 games for the Bavarian giants, along with laying on 29 assists for his team-mates, before the four-year deal he signed comes to a close.

With the Premier League's top sides currently all packed to the brim with expensively-assembled strike forces, a move back to the north London club where he is the record goalscorer could end up being the most likely return route for Kane.

"I think there’s a lot of Tottenham fans including myself who would like to see Kane back," admitted Spurs boss Frank. "He’s a top player. Personally, I don't think he will do it right now, if I’m honest, he’ll probably stay in Bayern and continue performing well.

"He was top scorer last year and won the championship, he’s doing fantastic now. I don’t know what he’s thinking. Myself, I’m a traveller, I like to travel, I like to explore things as well. He’s been here for many years so why not enjoy the time at Bayern a little bit more.

"But he’s welcome. If he wants to join us, he’s more than welcome."

He added: "I didn’t know there was a clause. I see two things, one he is an unbelievable player who did fantastically for Spurs and is doing fantastically for Bayern. Top player."

Over the years, Kane developed ties with the powerful Lewis family who own Tottenham and often holidayed at their Bahamas resort.

The biggest obstacle to any return would be the England captain's wages, which are reported to be around £400,000-a-week at Bayern. That is far beyond Tottenham's current wage structure.

However, the Lewis family have taken on a more prominent role at the club with the departure of Levy and are expected to inject funds and alter the way Spurs operate going forward. That could mean a change to the wage-to-revenue ratio that is currently the lowest in the Premier League.

Kane was one of Tottenham's own after coming through the ranks to become their top scorer and now those within the club have high hopes for another potential star in their ranks in 16-year-old Luca Williams-Barnett.

The attacker was named on the bench in the Premier League and Europa League last season during the club's injury crisis without making his debut after starring for the U18s. Now the teenager has been training with a fuller first team under Frank after impressing in the UEFA Youth League and for Spurs' U21s as well as on his England U18s debut with a stream of goals and assists across his appearances at various levels.

Despite his age, Williams-Barnett netted a first half hat-trick against older defenders for the U21s at Leicester on Friday night.

"Of course he's been training with us, Luca, a few times and I get good info from the academy and from our transition coach, Stuart [Lewis]. So yeah, I'm well aware of Luca's talent and I like what I see. He's young, obviously, but his composure and technique and vision is very good," said Frank.

"I think it's the fine balance that he needs to play and develop somewhere where he gets pushed enough but it's not too tough. And other times where he needs to be pushed very hard and it's tricky for him to cope with the intensity or the physicality. So it's just to try to strike that balance."

When asked whether Williams-Barnett could be in the squad to face Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup third round on Wednesday night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Spurs boss appeared to hint that it might happen.

"Yeah, he's a player that we like a lot," said Frank. "Let's see tomorrow, but that could be an opportunity."

Two senior players, albeit still both young at 20, that Frank is also looking to develop are Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel. The Tottenham head coach has belief in both of the France U21 international team-mates to become key players for the club in the years ahead.

"Both of them are exciting and good players. Let’s start with Wilson. I think his game against Brighton was promising," he said. "I liked the variation in his game so he could go on the outside and produce a cross with his left foot. He could go inside and cut across. He combined nicely.

"Good link-up play as well, good understanding of his team-mates, worked hard. Probably a little bit of… I hate to say end product, I don’t want to say that so I’ll say arriving in the box. That’s where he’ll score most of the goals. I think he’s in a good place."

He added: "Mathys, the same. I like what I’ve seen so much in training. I think he played a decent game against West Ham as a striker. Maybe both of them are best to the left so that gives me a nice challenge in terms of that.

"What I’m convinced about is that Tottenham have two very good players that I am very convinced will be very good for us over the next years."

One figure at the north London club who has been in the news this week is Fabio Paratici. The club's former managing director of football resigned in April 2023 after receiving a 30-month global ban for his involvement in the "Plusvalenza" Juventus scandal, which involved claims that officials had inflated the official transfer fees with other Serie A clubs to create millions in "capital gains" for tax purposes and allow more to be spent in the transfer market than financial fair play rules would have allowed.

The 53-year-old was retained by Spurs as a consultant, used particularly during transfer windows, but in recent months has become a more prominent presence at Tottenham games again with an expected return to an official role at the club.

There was more drama though around Paratici this week when a plea request was accepted by an Italian judge to settle a false accounting case as part of the Prisma criminal investigation. Among the former Juventus executives, Paratici was handed a suspended jail sentence of 18 months, although the plea from the group does not involve an admission of guilt or recognition of liability.

Frank was asked on Tuesday about his involvement with Paratici since he had arrived as head coach at the club this summer.

"Fabio is a consultant. Of course I speak to him. I’ve spoken to him mainly in the transfer window while he's part of the group that works and deals with the transfers. I've got a good relationship with him," said the Dane.