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Should Harry Kane leave Tottenham?

Should Harry Kane leave Tottenham? Our football team give their verdict on huge Kane transfer question

By Sporting Life

Football

Wed April 01, 2020 · 5y ago

Should Harry Kane leave Tottenham? Our football team give their verdict on this huge transfer question and want your opinions.

“He’s one of our own” the Tottenham fans sing for their beloved Harry Kane, but his latest comments suggest that England’s star striker is now willing to consider his future away from Spurs.

Kane’s collected Golden Boots for fun, but no team silverware, and he’s said he would not remain with the team “just for the sake of it” in what was a clear message to Daniel Levy and the board to improve things when the next transfer window eventually opens.

New manager Jose Mourinho has hardly inspired since replacing Mauricio Pochettino – Kane’s injury hasn’t helped and he’ll want a full pre-season and transfer window to put his own stamp on things. The trouble is he probably won’t get either of those things given the current situation and maybe Kane is already angling for a move as soon as he can.

So should Kane leave? Should Spurs consider cashing in now in order to strengthen the team elsewhere? Our football team discuss…

Paul Higham (@SportsPaulH)

Harry Kane: Spurs forward scores a penalty against Norwich on his 200th Premier League appearance

I never thought I’d hear Harry Kane even hint about leaving given how he usually handles himself in the media, but whether it was the more relaxed atmosphere of an Instagram Live or Jamie Redknapp’s probing Paxman-like interview style, Kane’s answers were revealing.

It could well have been just a thinly veiled reminder to Daniel Levy not to take his main man for granted, and to really pull his finger out whenever the next transfer window opens. His words could actually be music to the ears of Jose Mourinho, who will no doubt also be urging Levy to spend big.

That, however, sounds nothing like the Levy we know and love – and there’s no way the boss will be dictated to by anyone – even Kane.

So is this beginning of the end? I’d say so, but nothing is certain in the current dreadful situation we all find ourselves in.

What we do know is that Kane is a world class scoring talent and far too good a player to go without winning trophies. Mourinho has had the magic touch for winning silverware but things already look rocky for him at Spurs and I wouldn’t be banking on him hanging around too long if I were Kane.

Whenever we finish the current season, I wouldn’t even be surprised if Kane were to depart during the re-vamped transfer window, and as huge a blow as it seems on the surface, the whopping transfer fee he’d command could end up helping Spurs in the long run provided it’s spent wisely.

The club messed up with the funds they brought in for Gareth Bale so they’d hope not to make the same mistake twice. It actually makes a bit of sense for both parties for Kane to leave at some point in the not too distant future.

Tom Carnduff (@TomC_22)

Harry Kane levels up for Tottenham at home to Brighton

I find it remarkable that we're discussing Kane leaving Tottenham less than 12 months after their appearance in the Champions League final.

Spurs certainly looked like a club who could cement their top-four spot and establish themselves as one of England's elite - albeit on the edge of that category.

Since that defeat in Madrid though, it's been a mess on the pitch, although some consolation is the incredible surroundings they now enjoy off it.

Much is said about Levy's stubbornness in the transfer market but Tottenham have invested big over the previous two windows. The trio of Tanguy Ndombele, Steven Bergwijn and Ryan Sessegnon cost the club over £100m and then there was the permanent addition of Giovani Lo Celso and even the £10m spent on youngster Jack Clarke.

The problem is that, while the majority of their incomings have proven to be good bits of business, the team is struggling with leadership and establishing a key route forward for the future.

Mourinho appeared to be the Mourinho of old when he took the job but that charm has quickly disappeared as Tottenham struggle to break back into the Champions League spots.

Jose Mourinho in discussion with Harry Kane

That said, it would be somewhat unfair to judge Mourinho's time at the club based on this season alone. He inherited a side who were struggling and did put them back into European contention.

In fact, the Premier League table since Mourinho took the job in North London would put Tottenham in fifth with 27 points from 17 games. Manchester City can only boast five more over the same period.

Kane has spent his entire career at Tottenham. There's been a loyalty to the club throughout many trophy-less years. However, at the age of 26, we can see the dilemma he is now facing.

He is a world class striker. There's no debate. 136 goals in 198 Premier League games is exceptional and then there's the 32 goals in 45 England appearances to go alongside that.

There will likely come a time where Kane does depart. However, there's two reasons behind him staying at the club for another season.

Harry Kane scores Tottenham's first goal against Burnley

The first of which is the calibre of manager they now have at the helm. Whether Mourinho has still got it is another debate entirely but he has a track record of trophies.

Give him a full season in charge, with some more potential incomings and the continued development of some of the younger players in this squad, and they have every chance of securing silverware. Either domestic cup will be targeted alongside potential Europa League involvement.

Secondly, Kane will command a huge fee, we're talking way above the £100m mark. The current uncertainty surrounding the season and the transfer window will leave teams reluctant to spend that sort of money. Particularly when we consider the financial situation that everyone is facing.

A move to an established trophy-laden club will happen at some point in Kane's career. But for now, waiting it out for another season could see him lift silverware at the club where he's spent a significant part of his life.

George Pitts (@GeorgePitts_)

Harry Kane scores Tottenham's third against West Ham

I have to agree with Tom on this one. Kane should give it another year to see what direction Tottenham head in.

When Mourinho first replaced Pochettino, Kane said: "The gaffer's won at every club he's gone to - there's no hiding away from that.

"I've made it clear that I'm at the stage of my career where I want to win trophies. I've made it clear I want to win them here and it's a big year for us.

"When someone's got a reputation like he has, it gives you confidence, it gives you that belief in the team."

Granted, it was probably along the lines the club's PR person would expect from the captain on their new boss, but there was also brutal honesty. Kane wanted success this season but it will not be happening after a difficult couple of months. In part, through no fault of his own, an injury to Kane. He was a big miss and it arguably contributed to their exits from the Champions League and FA Cup.

The forward scored seven goals since Mourinho's arrival and the Portuguese will understandably see him as his key talisman in north London.

If you look at Mourinho's past teams, he has had a big, versatile forward to help them to success - Didier Drogba, Diego Costa, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Diego Milito to name but a few - and Kane can be that man in Mourinho's Tottenham team.

As Tom says, Bergwijn's arrival is exciting, a player full of promise, so too Lo Celso (we won't mention Ndombele after their already tumultuous relationship...) and this team is arguably in transition.

However the transfer window and pre-season for next term works out in the sporting calendar, Mourinho should shake it up a little - why else would he have agreed to take over at a club that had not spent loads in recent years while also in need of a revamp?

After his injury and extended break in unfortunate circumstances, Kane will be raring to go and it is worth seeing how the next 12-18 months pan out for the club before considering a move elsewhere.

That being said, he is 27 this summer and will soon be approaching his peak as a top-level striker, so you could see why he may be getting itchy feet.