Harry Kane issues contract update and outlines what Tottenham must do to keep him at the club

Harry Kane insists he has not held talks over a new contract with Tottenham Hotspur but reiterates that he is content to stay at the club provided they continue to progress and start winning trophies.

The prolific England international's future has become subject to much speculation after a phenomenal 2017 in which he scored 56 times in 52 games for club and country, netted eight hat-tricks and broke Alan Shearer's record for the most Premier League goals in a calendar year (39), with Real Madrid frequently linked with a big-money move for his signature.

Reports last week suggested that Tottenham - who in December 2016 made Kane their joint-top earner with a new five-and-a-half year contract worth in excess of £100,000-a-week - were ready to hand the 24-year-old another new contract worth approximately £200,000-a-week that would better reflect his growing stature in the game and also see him overtake Manchester City's Raheem Sterling as the highest-paid English player in the top-flight.

However, speaking after opening his account for the New Year with a quickfire second-half brace that sealed a comfortable 3-0 FA Cup third-round win over League One outfit AFC Wimbledon at Wembley Stadium on Sunday (7 January), Kane confirmed he had not entered into any talks and that none were planned that he knew of.

He also claimed he was happy to remain at Spurs, on the condition that they continue to move forward under Mauricio Pochettino and collect major honours. Tottenham, who are 21 points off the title pace as it stands and face Juventus in the last 16 of the Champions League next month, have won just one trophy in the current millennium to date - the 2007-08 League Cup.

"I've always said: keep progressing, keep getting better, start winning trophies," he was quoted as saying by the Independent. "That's the aim, as long as the club keep doing that then, yeah I'm happy here."

Pochettino obviously wants to keep Kane at Tottenham, drawing parallels with one-club icon Francesco Totti, yet warned that the club must be clever and careful and suggesting that they cannot force everyone to stay. He also pointed to Liverpool's £142m ($192.2m) sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona as proof of how difficult it is for even some of the world's top clubs to keep hold of their biggest talents.

Asked for his own views on the long-running Coutinho saga that was mercifully brought to an end over the weekend, Kane said that the Brazilian - who continued to perform to an impressive standard in 2017-18 despite handing in a transfer request - had remained professional and that clubs should generally let players that want to leave go.

"It's a matter of opinion," he said. "I think if a player wants to go then why would you stop him? He's not going to be in the club, he's not going to play every game, he's not going to put his heart on the line.

"From the Coutinho point of view I think he's been very professional in the six months he has played this year and, look, Liverpool have got a good offer from Barca and accepted it so I wouldn't say they're powerless but I can see why if a player wants to go you would let him go."