Harry Kane

[DJS]

If he leaves us without winning anything with us it will just highlight the gross incompetence of how the club has been run since he broke through.

We were so near to something great and then just messed it up through poor squad managemeant.

 

[BringBack_leGin]

Why would Levy want to wait to get £50m less next summer.

Kane’s value isn’t dropping by a single penny by summer 2022 unless he gets a horrendous injury before then, you know that full well. After next summer yes, he’ll depreciate, but in the next 12 months his value will at worse remain the same, maybe even improve depending on what he achieves in that time.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

If he leaves us without winning anything with us it will just highlight the gross incompetence of how the club has been run since he broke through.

We were so near to something great and then just messed it up through poor squad managemeant.

Definitely

The core of the side with him, Eriksen, Dembele, Verts and Toby was sensational - and at the time it was pretty young

Our squad purchases thereafter were, in the main, so unbelievably bad it doesn't bear thinking about

Compare ours to some of Leicester's or Liverpool's - a unique opportunity wasted

 

[Jody]

Definitely

The core of the side with him, Eriksen, Dembele, Verts and Toby was sensational - and at the time it was pretty young

Our squad purchases thereafter were, in the main, so unbelievably bad it doesn't bear thinking about

Compare ours to some of Leicester's or Liverpool's - a unique opportunity wasted

Pretty sure many people said the same about the purchases of those 4 above at the time too though (perhaps less so Toby).

 

[JCRD]

Why would he want to keep his most prized asset in the team for one more year where we have a higher chance of winning more matches and possibly getting back into the CL?, have a higher chance of keeping other good players in the team and attracting other good players because it sends out the right message? Gives him another year to plan for life without Kane?

Also you're forgetting that next year will see the return of fans in stadiums which means more money will be going round and the market won't be as deflated as this year so there is a potential to still get good value.

I think Kane knows he's not going to leave this summer which is why he's put it out there now so that he can prepare the club and Levy for next summer as he'll have 2 years left. Never in a million years would Levy let him leave with 2 months notice, it's more likely he'll be given a year then he'll be off just like Modric.

I think we have a much better chance getting into the CL with Kane than without. That's just one reason I can see Levy holding onto him. Maybe even until 1 year on his contract. CL money would make up for a lower fee later down the line. I'm sure there's other reasons to keep him too from a marketing standpoint and things like shirt sales.

You guys are right in that it would be difficult to get rid of our prized asset and to boot he is our best chance of achieving what we want to achieve however he cant do it himself.

Levy really needs to help overhaul the squad for us to win something

 

[mil1lion]

Definitely

The core of the side with him, Eriksen, Dembele, Verts and Toby was sensational - and at the time it was pretty young

Our squad purchases thereafter were, in the main, so unbelievably bad it doesn't bear thinking about

Compare ours to some of Leicester's or Liverpool's - a unique opportunity wasted

I think we were hoping that Foyth and Sanchez would be our long term replacement to Jan and Toby. It just hasn't worked out. Sanchez hasn't progressed enough and Foyth hasn't had the confidence of Poch or Jose to play enough. We now also have Tanganga and Rodon so we do have potential there. We're just lacking developed quality in at the moment because our most experienced players (Sanchez and Dier) haven't reached the height of Jan and Toby.

We obviously looked at Lo Celso and Ndombele to replace Eriksen and Dembele. The trouble is they arrived a year too late and they're expected to replace 2 developed players. Ideally we need players to play understudy for a bit while they develop and then when a player leaves be ready. I think Lo Celso was the only one in that situation to some extent with Eriksen still here. Its just a shame Eriksen didn't turn up so we needed Lo Celso more.

In terms of Kane I would worry about whether we could/would replace with a developed and proven striker (given our track record with centre forwards). We already have Scarlett and Parrott for the long run. If we could keep Kane a couple more years they could break through.

 

[punkisback]

Yes and if Bale and Modric had stayed they would have played in the peak Pochettino years with Kane, Son. Eriksen, Dembele and the League's strongest defence- does anyone think we wouldn't have turned those Runners-Up places into Firsts? But we have this cycle of having our best players leave because they can't see trophies in the short-term. It is so frustrating. Levy has been trying to break that cycle by keeping them but that hasn't worked well.

How great would be if Kane ends up staying and wins the league with Spurs in 2 or 3 years. What a legend he would be then.

I think the cycle has broken as we haven’t actually built our squad! We haven’t replaced the FB, Am and CB of that Poch team and have regressed in quality because of that.

 

[Danny1]

I see Merson is on the “hope Spurs sell everyone” brigade again. I just cannot see any way where we sell Kane to Utd. They are not odds on to win anything any time soon and even with Kane they are still a mile behind a top level City, before they get Haaland or someone else. Baring in mind this the Merson who said Kane won’t score goals for us under Mourinho.

I can potentially see Kane going City as with him they would pretty much win every game they play and will win almost every trophy.

However with Levy in charge it will cost north of £180m to get him, in my opinion.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

I think we were hoping that Foyth and Sanchez would be our long term replacement to Jan and Toby. It just hasn't worked out. Sanchez hasn't progressed enough and Foyth hasn't had the confidence of Poch or Jose to play enough. We now also have Tanganga and Rodon so we do have potential there. We're just lacking developed quality in at the moment because our most experienced players (Sanchez and Dier) haven't reached the height of Jan and Toby.

We obviously looked at Lo Celso and Ndombele to replace Eriksen and Dembele. The trouble is they arrived a year too late and they're expected to replace 2 developed players. Ideally we need players to play understudy for a bit while they develop and then when a player leaves be ready. I think Lo Celso was the only one in that situation to some extent with Eriksen still here. Its just a shame Eriksen didn't turn up so we needed Lo Celso more.

In terms of Kane I would worry about whether we could/would replace with a developed and proven striker (given our track record with centre forwards). We already have Scarlett and Parrott for the long run. If we could keep Kane a couple more years they could break through.

All well said

Many of those players I think will end up being excellent...some less so. We definitely messed at CB.

And it's certain areas like RB and RW where we've failed miserably, and have done for some time

We've been crying out for a replacement for Walker for a long time, and a left footed equivalent to Son has been needed forever.

Missing out on Grealish too is just super painful in hindsight

 

[IamSpurtacus]

Just sulk? The same way modric, berba left

Modric put his head down for a year after the Chelsea snub and had a great season for us before going to Madrid

I could see the same happening with Kane

 

[RichieS]

I think the cycle has broken as we haven’t actually built our squad! We haven’t replaced the FB, Am and CB of that Poch team and have regressed in quality because of that.

"I don't like the replacements" ≠ "We didn't buy replacements".

Walker has been replaced with Aurier, Trippier and Doherty. None of them are as good as he was but, in reality, he was the best RB in the league (potentially the world) when we sold him so the only way was down. Rose is now replaced by Reguilón (that one took longer than it should have done).

@mil1lion has already covered the rest. Just because the succession planning failed or has yet to come to fruition you can't say it wasn't done.

 

[ljinko888]

There's a big difference with Modric. Modric knew he could stick around another year because of his age and position. His best years were still ahead of him. For Kane there might be a nagging feeling that it's either this summer or not at all to move because he's close to 30 and the big clubs don't typically splash out on older forwards. Even though they're still great players, their peak might have already come and gone and it would be hard for them to shift the player on if it came to it. Kane's peak was 2017 when he broke the calendar record for goals in English football history and since then his ankle injuries have been a problem. Haaland is basically like signing the Kane of five years ago which might help us keep hold of the Kane of today if he doesn't force a move. Given the choice the big clubs will battle it out for the younger star.

 

[thebenjamin]

Reminds me of the situation with Gabriel Batistuta and Fiorentina.

 

[fuzzylogic]

Depends on how he is as and individual, whether he says or go’s. Think everyone on here wants him to stay and keep smashing records and scoring goals for us! But would anyone really grudge him a big move? I wouldn’t for sure

 

[stormfly]

If he leaves us without winning anything with us it will just highlight the gross incompetence of how the club has been run since he broke through.

We were so near to something great and then just messed it up through poor squad managemeant.

Yep, but I said the same in 2012 when we had:

Lennon Modric Parker Bale
VDV
Adebayor

Lots of great players wore the shirt and had nothing to show for it. We even had Davids and Carrick in the midfield once and had nothing to show for it. Yet Alan Hutton has won something with us!

 

[TheTanguy]

Walker has been replaced with Aurier, Trippier and Doherty. None of them are as good as he was but, in reality, he was the best RB in the league (potentially the world) when we sold him so the only way was down.

To think that we could've bought Ricardo Pereira for £22m

 

[BringBack_leGin]

There's a big difference with Modric. Modric knew he could stick around another year because of his age and position. His best years were still ahead of him. For Kane there might be a nagging feeling that it's either this summer or not at all to move because he's close to 30 and the big clubs don't typically splash out on older forwards. Even though they're still great players, their peak might have already come and gone and it would be hard for them to shift the player on if it came to it. Kane's peak was 2017 when he broke the calendar record for goals in English football history and since then his ankle injuries have been a problem. Haaland is basically like signing the Kane of five years ago which might help us keep hold of the Kane of today if he doesn't force a move. Given the choice the big clubs will battle it out for the younger star.

This would be fair if it wasn’t for the fact that I’m recent years, even if not always for fees, multiple strikers considerably older than Kane have made moves to be the star striker at top, title challenging sides.

If Cristiano Ronaldo can go for €100m (112 after add ons) at 33, Kane will have loads of interest at 29 from every top club. Or, to flip it, if at 29 clubs see him as too old to pay a huge fee for, then they’ll also think so at 28 when the fee will be even bigger due to his contract having three years on it still.

 

[Shadydan]

This would be fair if it wasn’t for the fact that I’m recent years, even if not always for fees, multiple strikers considerably older than Kane have made moves to be the star striker at top, title challenging sides.

If Cristiano Ronaldo can go for €100m (112 after add ons) at 33, Kane will have loads of interest at 29 from every top club. Or, to flip it, if at 29 clubs see him as too old to pay a huge fee for, then they’ll also think so at 28 when the fee will be even bigger due to his contract having three years on it still.

Van Persie left Arsenal at 29 as well.

 

[Gassin's finest]

Big Al's take this morning:

Alan Shearer: Harry Kane will achieve greatness if he stays at Spurs or if he leaves. But if he wants out, this summer might be his last chance

I faced a similar dilemma to Harry Kane over my future. It's a tough decision but if he can't leave Tottenham, that doesn't mean failure

theathletic.com

If I was Harry Kane, nothing would piss me off like ex-pros and pundits weighing in on what he should do for the good of his career. That’s a bandwagon I’ll happily watch roll by. I’ve got way too much respect for Harry as a player and a man to offer him advice on a decision that I know for myself is rarely linear and that may not, in the end, be his to make. What I would say, though, is this: if he’s going to leave, it looks like this summer or not at all.

Harry is already a legend at Tottenham Hotspur. As England captain and the most complete English striker of his generation, it is only natural that his situation and the club he plays for should command debate. That’s all fine and part of the game, but having had some experience of a big move in similar — but not identical — circumstances, there are all sorts of complications and caveats and moving parts to consider.
I read The Athletic’s excellent piece on Harry last week, written by my colleagues Oliver Kay and Jack Pitt-Brooke. The big takeaway from that — that he will push for a transfer should Spurs not qualify for the Champions League — was well-sourced, I’m sure, but what intrigues me is the mechanics of how that might happen, how a second summer of pandemic will affect the market, who could afford him and what, if anything, could change.

The one indisputable fact is that Harry is under contract at Tottenham for three more years. That six-year deal he signed in June 2018 was a fantastic piece of business by Daniel Levy and his club. It tied down their most saleable asset and it gives them a thick layer of protection now. I’m not convinced it was quite so great for Harry, even though the landscape at Spurs was much more positive back then.

It’s worth reminding ourselves what Harry said at that stage. “It’s been fantastic to consistently get in the Champions League so I’m really excited to have another go at that and with the Premier League and FA Cup, we’ll look to go as far as we can,” he told Tottenham’s official website. When they left White Hart Lane, he had said winning one of the big trophies had “got to be the next celebration. That’s got to be the next step”.

It did not feel like a ludicrous ambition. Spurs finished third, second and third in the Premier League under Mauricio Pochettino and then lost the Champions League final to Liverpool. Since then, they’ve regressed. I’m aware that Jose Mourinho’s team were top of the table in December, but that increasingly feels like a mirage. At present they are seventh, a distant 25 points behind Manchester City, the runaway leaders.

Tottenham’s back four were bloody awful when they played Newcastle United earlier this month and that should tell you something. I wouldn’t have faith in them. In Harry and Son Heung-min they have two world-class players — I don’t think Gareth Bale qualifies any more — and that’s basically their team. They don’t look happy. And nor would I be if my manager was saying things like “same coach, different players”, after matches. We’re seeing an agitated Jose Mourinho.

An interesting thing to note in passing is that for all the criticism of Tottenham and how negative they can be — and it’s not much fun to watch when they sit back — if anything, Harry has got better. He’s always been a brilliant player but under Jose, he’s been unbelievable. If those improvements were mirrored elsewhere in the team this wouldn’t be a column worth writing.

The point is that Harry could no longer say the same things about winning the Premier League. After a difficult season, you can only see Liverpool rebooting. Manchester City are approaching their best. Chelsea are improving. Manchester United are contenders again. Would the picture change at Spurs if Mourinho went? Maybe. As Leicester City and West Ham show, a place in the top four is open to clubs that get things right, but in terms of more than that? Spurs look a long way off. And so that leads back to the same question: is it enough?

When I moved to Newcastle for a world-record fee in 1996, I did so with the aim of winning trophies. That was the driver for me, as well as the pull of coming home. It didn’t work out like that, of course, but for most of my decade at St James’ Park and with lots of ups and downs on the way, we were trying. Harry is a big player; he won’t accept staying at Spurs for the sake of it. He has to have something to buy into. Right now, winning means leaving.

None of that means Harry should leave; to repeat, that’s not something I would ever say. But if we judge him on his words from two or three years ago, then it’s certainly a subject he will be considering now. Would winning the Carabao Cup be enough to scratch the itch? What about if he became the first England skipper to lift a trophy since 1966? (If we’re not counting Le Tournoi, that is, and, yes, I am being tongue-in-cheek.)

Harry is 28 in three months and this is why I think we’re approaching a pivotal moment. He’s at his peak, the ready-made article, an absolute guarantee of goals wherever he plays and the opposite of a gamble, but a buying club is going to want three or four of his best years in return for what would certainly be an exorbitant transfer fee. This is that time. Twelve months down the line and it becomes that bit more difficult to justify.

At 20 and 22 respectively, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe are different propositions; wildly talented, but still young enough to move on again and generate big money. They add another spice to the mix. If Haaland moves, for example, does it make it more important for a rival club to respond? What about if Lionel Messi finally says goodbye to Barcelona? Where does Harry stand in terms of priority?

The coronavirus has changed everything. When I interviewed Ronald Koeman for The Athletic in January, he talked about the challenge of managing Barca in an era of transition and an eye-watering debt of £1.1 billion. Yet, for other clubs, an altered landscape may provide them with an opportunity to make a move. Some can no longer afford to do business at the top table. Some won’t be able to avoid it.

You would think that only three or four clubs could afford to take Harry and the word from Tottenham is twofold: a) they will not sell and b) they will categorically not sell within the Premier League. Everybody knows about Levy’s reputation as a fierce negotiator. His resolve may be tested, but not on the cheap. It’s just difficult to see Harry pushing for a move without having an inkling of where he would end up.

Spurs have their own interests to consider. A lack of crowds inside their beautiful new stadium has cost them, but that doesn’t mean selling Harry makes financial sense. If they have designs on getting back to the elite, players of his calibre will be necessary. They couldn’t let him go without identifying a replacement and they’ll know there’s a huge danger of being shafted on a fee once they get big dough for Harry. They have to look after themselves.

There are some obvious parallels with the position I found myself in 25 years ago. There was a big international tournament coming up. I was an England centre-forward. There was a sense that Blackburn Rovers, the club I was at, had plateaued. I knew that leaving would be tough and would generate a significant fee. One difference is that, unlike Harry, I had won a league title and was on the hunt for more. The other is that Harry is already playing for a team he has a firm and deep affiliation with.

When Blackburn won the Premier League in 1995, I had signed a new contract. I asked for a clause to be inserted that would allow me to leave if I wanted to and although Jack Walker wouldn’t allow it, he told me that his word meant more than any contract. I had that relationship with the owner. Unfortunately, that was the high point. Kenny Dalglish moved upstairs to become director of football, Ray Harford took over as manager and from first, we dropped to seventh.

Going into Euro ’96, I was determined I wouldn’t decide on my club future when there was so much at stake. I had that ability to compartmentalise things, which I guess is a strength, but I also genuinely hadn’t made my mind up. I would bet my last pound that, come the end of the season, Harry will say the same sort of thing, that the only thing he’s thinking about is England and everything else can wait. Remember, you read it here first!

I didn’t make the decision until after the disappointment of going out in the semi-finals and then reporting back for pre-season. I asked for a meeting with Jack and then flew to Jersey with Tony Stephens, my agent, to sit down with him. I told him that I wanted to explore my options, to speak to other clubs. That I still wanted to win things. I was telling him that I wanted to leave, basically. I’d made my mind up.

Jack threw the kitchen sink at me. Then he made it very, very difficult. I admired both of those things. At one stage, he offered me the player-manager’s role at Blackburn, a non-starter but an amazing offer. Then he said it would take a world-record fee to get me out and then it would have be paid up front, in full, when usually it would be spread out over the course of your contract. Newcastle couldn’t do that and I’m pretty sure Manchester United couldn’t have, either.

I was close to moving to Old Trafford — close enough to have been house-hunting — but Jack was adamant he didn’t want me to go to another north-west club and our big rivals for the title. That didn’t play a role in my eventual decision, but I suspect it would have cost Man United more than the £15 million Newcastle paid for me. When push came to shove, because of his word, Jack had to let me go.

As far as we know, this isn’t the case with Harry and Spurs. If it came to it, after the number of goals he’s scored and the service he’s given them, I’d hope that Tottenham fans would understand his reasoning, even if they didn’t like it. When a player tells a club he wants out, the dynamics usually shift but it’s not a given. After all, Messi at still at the Nou Camp. And Harry doesn’t strike me as the type who would refuse to play or wouldn’t give his all.

In 1996, Newcastle had just blown a 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League, but they were set up to compete and were having a go. Ten years later and I’d overtaken the great Jackie Milburn to become Newcastle’s record goalscorer. Those 10 years earned me a statue outside St James’ and allowed me to set up a foundation that helps profoundly disabled children and adults. Even now, I still hold the Premier League’s goalscoring record. I would swap precisely none of that. It’s all precious.

Harry is already on his way to a statue, too. He is closing in on Jimmy Greaves in the list of Tottenham goalscorers. Same with the Premier League, although I’d prefer him to take his time with that one. His thoughts won’t be straying to the financial, because he’ll already have enough money whatever decision he comes to. If it ends with no trophies, does that mean he’ll have had a shit career? No, of course not.

All that said, the great players do not settle. They always want more and they push for it. And Harry is a great player, which is why it feels like he and Spurs are approaching a moment of definition. Whether it means staying or going, will they give him what he wants?

 

[DCSPUR64]

Great read by Alan Shearer on Harry Kane.
For me, the highlight was Mr Shearer’s foundation for special needs children and adults. Respect