Harry Kane excited to stay with Tottenham Hotspur and rebuff Manchester United

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has warned Manchester United must look elsewhere to cure their long-term attacking problems after confirming any doubt over Harry Kane's future in north London is over.

Kane netted 31 goals in all competitions for club and country last season and as Spurs missed out on place in the Champions League, his future was called into question – despite the 22-year-old signing a new five-and-a-half year contract in February.

The Mirror reported in June that United were plotting a £40m bid for the England international in order to test Tottenham's resolve but with rumours having fizzled out over Kane's future, Pochettino is confident he is ready to stay in north London.

"Kane is excited to start the season with us," Pochettino said, according to Sky Sports, prior to the 2-0 friendly defeat to Real Madrid. "Any doubts about his commitment are gone. He is delighted to stay with Tottenham. He is a big supporter of the club. I think he is very happy and we are very happy he is with us. If you can do it in England and Europe, you are doing it in the best competitions in the world. I think we have very ambitious players now, the younger ones in the group, like Harry.

"We need to keep this mentality. We try to build a very strong group for the next few years to try to achieve important things. Harry can manage this pressure. He is young, but he is very mature. He is in a very good way to become one of the best strikers in the world. We don't have any doubts about Harry Kane showing the same performances."

After finishing fifth, six points behind United in the table, Tottenham have the chance to lay down a marker ahead of the remainder of the season when they travel to Old Trafford on the opening day of the new season.

They face a United side who are short of attacking options, with Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez and James Wilson the only senior forwards available to manager Louis van Gaal after Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao departed during the summer.