What Next for Harry Kane?
Should he stay or will he go?
The transfer saga of the Summer is set to surround Harry Kane — not Erling Haaland, as it looked in March. Borussia Dortmund turned their season around by clinching Champions League qualification with a game spare, meaning Haaland is reportedly going to stay with the German club.
However, Tottenham Hotspur were unable to turn their fortunes around which led to the sacking of Jose Mourinho.
The Portuguese’s temporary replacement, Ryan Mason, hasn’t led a Solskjaer-like revolution through the club. No shackles have been “unleashed.”
Spurs are set to finish between seventh and ninth come the conclusion of the Premier League season this Sunday.
Given this outlook, it is sensible that Kane wants to leave the club. While it is where he got his major breakthrough as a player, and he supposedly has a deep connection to the fans, there comes a point where players of a particular quality deserve the chance to look at better options.
Some may say that Franceso Totti or Steven Gerrard are examples that Kane should follow, but Totti won a Serie A title and Gerrard a Champions League. Even still, both players were linked with moves to Real Madrid and Chelsea during their careers.
So far with Spurs, Kane has reached a Champions League final, a League Cup final, an FA Cup semi final and come second in the league.
Those are all fine achievements, and his role in Mauricio Pochettino’s team was very exciting, but he turns 28-years old in July so it is easy to see why Kane is becoming increasingly desperate to win something.
The English striker has given Spurs everything, he has come so close to achieving absolute greatness, but now the club is on a downward trend that he needs to avoid getting sucked into.
Kane reflected on the run under the Argentine when talking to Gary Neville.
“For one reason or another we didn’t quite do what we needed to do and kind of where we’re at now I feel like we’re kind of at a rebuild stage again if I’m honest,” said Kane.
“It’s disappointing, I feel like the opportunity was definitely there. I’m not going to say it’s not there anymore of course, one or two good players can take the team over the line with Liverpool and City and teams like that.
“But for sure I feel like it was an opportunity missed for the club to do something special.”
These comments do leave the door at Spurs ajar ever so slightly, but the suggestion that they are “one or two players” from getting over the line to being a top team again, followed by the speculation that he still wants to leave anyway heavily implies that Daniel Levy has no plans to strengthen the squad this Summer.
If that is the case, then Kane is right to look for alternatives.
The problem is that there aren’t many options out there for Kane. Firstly, the six-year contract he signed in 2018 means he still has three years left on his deal with the club. That gives him very little bargaining power in negotiations with Levy.
Levy, too, is known as a tough negotiator who pores over every little detail to an almost excruciating degree. This makes Spurs an unpalatable club to deal with for transfers.
Secondly, the fee that Levy is likely to command — reportedly at £150 million — is the kind of figure that only a handful of clubs in football can afford.
Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United are three.
Paris Saint-Germain are the only other club that could potentially afford that kind of deal, plus the no doubt huge wages that Kane will be looking for.
Tottenham will want to avoid selling to a direct rival, but Kane has supposedly set his sights on staying in the Premier League, ruling out a move to PSG.
Chelsea are a London rival to Spurs and a move between those two clubs over any player is unlikely — let alone the club captain.
That leaves the two Manchester clubs. Both are realistic options for Kane and he would fit in well at either club, but the cost of the deal would prevent them from almost any other business this window. That may prevent either from actually going through with the transfer.
Tottenham hold all the cards. If they do intend on selling then this is the ideal time. Kane will never be worth more than he is right now. Next Summer, if they chose to cash in then, he could go for only two thirds of the price they could get now.
But if they are to rebuild the team, then building it around Kane is also a very sensible plan.
They are yet to appoint a new manager, choosing instead to take their time and let the season finish under Mason. There are good options available to Spurs and it’ll be interesting to see what direction they go with, but whoever does arrive will have a huge task on their hands.
The loss of Champions League revenues means that the club are also on the back foot in the market. They are already massively in debt due to the costs of the new stadium and the pandemic.
The potential sale of Kane will be too lucrative to turn down. If a club does stump up the cash to the tune of £150 million then Spurs will have no choice but to sell.
However, given Kane’s age and his injury record, he’ll have to have some Euro 2020 to convince one of the Manchester clubs that he is still worth every penny.
He’s been fantastic this season, perhaps the best player in the league, but the kind of figures involved requires a long-term commitment and with the likes of Haaland potentially available at half that price next Summer, perhaps it’s too much and too late for Kane.
