Harry Kane insists Tottenham Hotspur should not turn their noses up at the prospect of playing another season in the Europa League.
Spurs’ faint hopes of Champions League qualification were extinguished on Saturday in embarrassing fashion as they flopped to a 3-0 defeat at Stoke City.
If they manage to stay above Southampton – who sit one point below them – Tottenham will qualify for the Europa League.
Even if they slip below Southampton, a seventh-placed finish would be enough to qualify, provided Arsenal beat Aston Villa in the FA Cup final.
The prospect of flying to the far reaches of the continent on Thursday nights for a fifth successive season does not appeal to some Spurs fans, who would rather see their team focus solely on domestic matters, but that is not the case for Kane.
“We want to win more trophies and the Europa League is a chance to do that,” the Tottenham striker said.
“We’re going to try to win the last two games to qualify for the Europa League, and we’ll be taking that competition very seriously.”
Tottenham managers have had mixed views on the Europa League since they slipped back into the competition following a single year in the Champions League.
Andre Villas-Boas embraced the Europa League, but his predecessor Harry Redknapp branded the competition a “nuisance” that hampers league form.
That notion has rung true for Spurs this year. They have taken 16 points from a possible 30 in the matches that have followed their European exploits.
But the Europa League gave Kane an avenue to break into the Spurs first team earlier this season and the striker believes playing in the competitions has its merits.
“It’s more games so it gives us more opportunities to play together,” said the England forward, who scored seven of his 30 goals this season in the Europa League.
“Champions League teams have to do the same. If they win the Champions League they have to play that many games, so the Europa League’s no different.
“If anything it gives us a bit more experience in Europe, hopefully to try to push on to the Champions League. Everyone in and around the team wants to be involved.”
Judging by Saturday’s performance at the Britannia Stadium, Tottenham are nowhere near good enough to qualify for the Champions League.
Jan Vertonghen handed Stoke the lead when he flicked Mame Diouf’s cross straight into the path of Charlie Adam, who nodded in from close range.
A mix-up between Eric Dier and Hugo Lloris allowed Steven Nzonzi to add a second before Vertonghen allowed Diouf to tap in Mark Arnautovic’s cross and complete Stoke’s biggest win over Spurs for 80 years.
Tottenham have the fifth-worst defensive record in the Premier League this year – and Kane knows that must improve.
“We gave away two sloppy goals,” he said.
“That’s something we’ve been doing all season to be honest – and it’s something we’ve got to get better at.”
As well as concentrating on winning his final two matches against Hull City and Everton, Mauricio Pochettino is also considering his movements in the transfer market.
“It is important to identify and take a decision for the season and try to improve our squad. This is the challenge now,” the Spurs manager said.
Stoke’s goal in the next fortnight is to surpass their record Premier League tally of 50 points, which they reached on Saturday.
“We’re really working hard and we want to keep that going until the end – that is what I demand and that’s what the players expect,” manager Mark Hughes said.
“We don’t give them any respite. We have a good opportunity to better last year’s total. Let’s see if we can do it.”
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Other simple ideas for sushi rice dishes
Cheat’s nigiri
This is easier to make than sushi rolls. With damp hands, form the cooled rice into small tablet shapes. Place slices of fresh, raw salmon, mackerel or trout (or smoked salmon) lightly touched with wasabi, then press, wasabi side-down, onto the rice. Serve with soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Easy omurice
This fusion dish combines Asian fried rice with a western omelette. To make, fry cooked and cooled sushi rice with chopped vegetables such as carrot and onion and lashings of sweet-tangy ketchup, then wrap in a soft egg omelette.
Deconstructed sushi salad platter
This makes a great, fuss-free sharing meal. Arrange sushi rice on a platter or board, then fill the space with all your favourite sushi ingredients (edamame beans, cooked prawns or tuna, tempura veggies, pickled ginger and chilli tofu), with a dressing or dipping sauce on the side.
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Match info:
Real Betis v Sevilla, 10.45pm (UAE)
Pakistan squad
Sarfraz (c), Zaman, Imam, Masood, Azam, Malik, Asif, Sohail, Shadab, Nawaz, Ashraf, Hasan, Amir, Junaid, Shinwari and Afridi
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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BMW M5 specs
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
