Harry Kane says all his focus is on England at Euro 2020 amid transfer speculation


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England captain Harry Kane says he has had no contact with Tottenham regarding his future as he focuses on peaking in time to help his country at Euro 2020.

Kane's club situation has been the topic of heavy speculation in recent weeks after he told Spurs he wanted to leave this summer, with Premier League champions Manchester City reported to be readying a £100 million bid.

The 27-year-old has not had the best of times at the European Championship so far, failing to score in the group stage and looking well below his best - albeit with a distinct lack of service.

He insists the two things are not related and says he has spoken to neither his brother Charlie, who is also his agent, nor Spurs about his future.

"To be honest, I feel like when I come away with England I'm just fully focused on England," he said.

"My brother is my agent, but the only time I've spoken to my brother really over the last few weeks is, 'Good luck, let's get a win, and let's take England all the way'.

"After the games I'll have one of the club physios just checking up, making sure that everything is OK, so but other than that, not really (any contact). I have good luck messages and things like that but nothing to do with the personal stuff with the club really.

"So, it doesn't really bother me about the outside noise. When I'm here I'm with the boys, I try to help the boys, be a leader in the team, I need to get to know the boys, see what makes certain players tick, and the younger lads, helping them, so I feel like I've got enough on my plate to worry about anything outside of England.

"That's where I'm at, and of course I feel like it's one of them where if you're not scoring as a striker, people look for every little angle why you're not scoring and that's probably the case in this tournament so far, but like I said, as long as I'm focused, I've got the self-belief I have, I'm not worried about anyone else.

"If I'm totally honest I don't really read anything, no media.

"The most important thing is about us as a group and us a staff and as a nation and when you are in these tournament modes, sometimes it's easy to get caught away with other stuff but the experience I've had in the last few tournaments, is just to focus on this and do what you can in the moment and leave no regrets."

Kane's performances have seen him come under heavy fire from all quarters, just weeks after he won the Premier League Golden Boot and Playmaker awards for the 2020-21 season.

But he feels like he is coming good and believes he is ready to peak ahead of the knockout stages of Euro 2020, which begins with the last-16 tie with Germany at Wembley next Tuesday.

And that is something that excites him as, despite winning the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup, he rang out of steam in the latter stages of the tournament.

"People are quick to change their mind, it wasn't too long ago when I won the Golden Boot and I was the best thing in the world, people were raving about you, and that's why I've always said, as a footballer, you can't get too high or too low, you just have to have than neutral mode, self-belief is a huge thing," he said.

"I've always believed in myself. I could go 10, 15 games without scoring but give me a chance and I'd back myself to score it. Like I said, I'm in a good place.

"Going into Tuesday night, physically, I'm in the best shape of the tournament so far, and that's what I kind of wanted going into this.

"I felt maybe in Russia I started on fire, scored loads of goals, then maybe didn't have my best performances in the most important games, the quarters and the semi-finals, so coming into this, physically, I wanted to make sure I was peaking at the right time.

"Obviously we won't know until Tuesday night if that's the case, but the way I feel, that's the way I feel it's going."

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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THE LOWDOWN

Photograph

Rating: 4/5

Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies

Director: Ritesh Batra

Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz

The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
  • undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
  • A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The%20specs
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Alita: Battle Angel

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Stars: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Keean Johnson

Four stars

UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence 

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

Game Changer

Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

RESULTS

2.15pm: Al Marwan Group Holding – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner: SS Jalmod, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)

2.45pm: Sharjah Equine Hospital – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Ghallieah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout

3.15pm: Al Marwan Group Holding – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Inthar, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi

3.45pm: Al Ain Stud Emirates Breeders Trophy – Conditions (PA) Dh50,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: MH Rahal, Richard Mullen, Elise Jeanne

4.25pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Cup – Prestige Handicap (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: JAP Aneed, Ray Dawson, Irfan Ellahi

4.45pm: Sharjah Equine Hospital – Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Edaraat, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi

Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus

U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES

UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)

  • Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs 
  • Thursday 20 January: v England 
  • Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh 

UAE squad:

Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith  

Day 1, Dubai Test: At a glance

Moment of the day Sadeera Samarawickrama set pulses racing with his strokeplay on his introduction to Test cricket. It reached a feverish peak when he stepped down the wicket and launched Yasir Shah, who many regard as the world’s leading spinner, back over his head for six. No matter that he was out soon after: it felt as though the future had arrived.

Stat of the day - 5 The last time Sri Lanka played a Test in Dubai – they won here in 2013 – they had four players in their XI who were known as wicketkeepers. This time they have gone one better. Each of Dinesh Chandimal, Kaushal Silva, Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, and Niroshan Dickwella – the nominated gloveman here – can keep wicket.

The verdict Sri Lanka want to make history by becoming the first team to beat Pakistan in a full Test series in the UAE. They could not have made a better start, first by winning the toss, then by scoring freely on an easy-paced pitch. The fact Yasir Shah found some turn on Day 1, too, will have interested their own spin bowlers.