It was a normal newsless Monday evening before Sky Sports broke the news of Harry Kane’s desire to leave Tottenham.
Harry Kane is a Tottenham Hotspur legend, there’s no doubt about it. Regardless of the lack of trophies, his input to the team has been nothing short of remarkable with him sitting 7th in the all-time Premier League top goalscorers on 165 goals.
He has been through the Spurs ranks since 2004 and absolutely loves the club, but we have let him down.
There seems to be a negative growing sense that Tottenham are taking a steep decline in a short period of time since reaching the Champions League final and it appears Kane wants to leave while he still has time.
Kane has made no secret in interviews over the last three years or so for his desire is to compete for the top trophies, having fallen short numerous times at Spurs.
It’s starting to feel like Spurs missed their chance and they’re massively paying the price.
It makes perfect sense as to why Kane wants to leave, he’s a Champions League quality player, not a Europa Conference player. He’s fed up and wants out, but can he leave?
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Amid reports about Kane leaving, I personally still feel that he will be a Tottenham player next season, one of the reasons being Daniel Levy.
Daniel Levy, despite the fact he receives a lot of criticism, is one of the toughest negotiators football has ever seen. Sir Alex Ferguson when talking about Dimitar Berbatov’s transfer to Manchester United from Spurs in 2008, said “That whole experience was more painful than my hip replacement.”
He’s a hard man to deal with and, when it comes to someone like Harry Kane who he’s witnessed develop into one of the world’s best under his tenure, for me, I find it extremely hard to see Levy selling for anything less than an astronomical fee with three years left on his deal.
Christian Eriksen, for example, is a player who had one year left on his deal at Spurs in January of 2020. Daniel Levy was difficult to deal with, insistent on getting £17m for him despite Inter offering many other slightly lower fees, which were rejected (CalcioMercato).
The point is Levy is stubborn and won’t be bullied by the bigger clubs, he’ll be set on a price and will stick to that.
Obviously, a big factor that will play a decisive role in keeping is the contract he’s on. He’s under contract until 2024 which will make him extremely expensive for any suitors.
This has been a problem for many players in the past, for example, Wilfred Zaha, who’s been under a long contract for three years now and despite frequently expressing his desire to leave publicly, Steve Parish has never budged from his £80 million valuation in 2019 and in 2021, he’s still a Crystal Palace player.
This is exactly Kane’s situation, Levy has his valuation, reportedly at £150 million and unless someone comes in with that, I strongly believe that he’ll stay.
I feel like the managerial appointment will be a deciding factor. If Daniel Levy was to do the remarkable and appointed Antonio Conte then there is no doubt in my mind that Harry Kane would be happy to stay due to his incredible record of winning titles.
On the other hand, there is Mauricio Pochettino. Some have suggested that this would cause Kane to want to leave even more, but I would disagree.
Pochettino has a fantastic relationship with Kane and I’m confident that Mauricio could convince Harry to stay on for at least another year.
However, if these moves didn’t materialise and someone like Roberto Martinez is in Lilywhite by August then Harry will want this move more than ever.
Due to the COVID market, alongside Kane’s age and injury past, not many clubs will be able to meet Levy’s demands. Daniel Levy would not let Harry Kane leave for anything less than his £150 million valuation and due to these factors, I highly doubt another club would pay that for Kane.
However, nothing can be ruled out. Manchester City could come in and offer £150 million next week which would give Levy a decision to make. For me, Harry Kane is irreplaceable and shouldn’t be sold whatever the price. Despite this, Levy could still take £150m.
So how would we spend that money?
If Kane was to leave, we would obviously need a striker and for me personally, no one available is even remotely near Kane’s level. However, I think we should invest in a younger striker who can take a year or so to settle and then smash the next couple of years.
The majority of that money should go to two new centre backs and for me, Jack Grealish. Everybody should know by now that Jack Grealish is a top player and if Kane left I feel he’s the perfect man but there would be doubts whether he would swap Villa for Spurs.
Spurs need a playmaker and if this couldn’t be Grealish then next on my list would be James Maddison or Emi Buendia. These are two great players who I believe would be open to a move for relatively good prices.
Centre back targets should include players such as Joachim Andersen and Sven Botman.
Joachim Andersen seems likely to be heading to N17 after various reports linking us to the Danish centre back. Another option should be Sven Botman who just played a vital role in Lille’s title-winning campaign.
The 21-year-old in the 20/21 season averaged an 87% pass accuracy, kept 20 clean sheets and made 1.5 interceptions per game (SofaScore).
In terms of midfielders, Yves Bissouma or Aurélien Tchouaméni should be the top targets. Tottenham are in a good position in terms of advanced midfielders in Ndombele and Lo Celso but we are lacking an all-rounder. We should be looking to replace Moussa Sissoko and Harry Winks.
Bissouma is a Premier League proven player who in my opinion will reach the top level, the way he moves and dribbles which coincides with the technical play is brilliant to watch, he’s everywhere on the pitch.
Aurélien Tchouaméni has just had his breakout season with Monaco and has caught the eye of Europe’s elite. The 21-year-old scored 2 and assisted 4 (TransferMarkt) from defensive midfield but it’s his all-round ability from the middle of the park which separates him from the rest.
In terms of strikers, we should be targeting younger strikers such as Andre Silva, Patson Daka or Alexander Isak. Andre Silva is a standout for me.
A remarkable season for the Portuguese man who outscored Erling Haaland in the Bundesliga, bagging 28 goals. Big things were expected from him after his breakout season in 16/17 with Porto but his big move to AC Milan didn’t work out. But now he’s better than ever and ready for the step up.
A potential advantage for a Harry Kane sale would be the new manager, whoever that may be, would be able to have a huge rebuild with large funds.
Nevertheless, I am going to stick to my gut reaction, which is that Kane will stay. Levy won’t budge or be bullied and because of his age and injuries, it’ll be hard to get him.
However, the players I’ve suggested here should still be of interest to Spurs, these guys are still needed in a team around Kane.
Levy needs to show Kane some ambition which would include a huge clearout this summer. Deadwood such as Winks, Sissoko, Lamela and Dier all have to go in order to make funds for a new and improved Tottenham Hotspur.
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