Barca boss Valverde quiet on Pogba link but talks up Kane ahead of Spurs clash

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde stayed silent on Paul Pogba but was happy to big up Harry Kane ahead of the Champions League clash with Tottenham.

Barcelona are reportedly monitoring Pogba’s situation at Manchester United, where his apparent rift with manager Jose Mourinho is showing no signs of being resolved.

A January bid for the unsettled France international from the Nou Camp could be on the cards.

But Valverde said: “We don’t know what will happen in the future.

“We respect players who are at other clubs so we don’t talk about them.”

Kane is showing signs of recapturing his usual sharpness following a slow start to the season.

The England striker scored two goals at Huddersfield at the weekend and Valverde is wary of the threat he poses.

“We know he’s a decisive player,” added Valverde. “We cannot compare last year and this year, what we know is his quality.

“We expect his best tomorrow and we must try to stop him.”

Barcelona have wobbled domestically in the past week, taking just two points from three LaLiga matches including a shock defeat to bottom club Leganes.

Midfielder Ivan Rakitic said: “The good thing about football is that every four days you have a new chance. Obviously results haven’t been what we expected and we have to do better.

“We have a great game tomorrow, it’s very important. One or two bad games doesn’t change everything, we still have to do well.

“We have to consider what we have done, we have done things even though we have to improve. Tomorrow is going to be a great game against a great team.

“What we want is to defend the way Barcelona play and that gives us extra motivation.

“We have a lot of respect for Tottenham. We know it will be really hard. They had a bad result in the first game so they will be trying, for sure.”