The man who released Harry Kane from Arsenal opens up on his decision

Tottenham Hotspur have one of the best academy systems in the Premier League, with a number of stars currently plying their trade in England thanks to their time there.

Harry Kane and Harry Winks are clearly the standout examples in the current Tottenham first team, with both breaking their way into the starting XI from the academy.

The likes of Oliver Skipp, Kyle Walker-Peters, Troy Parrott, Japhet Tanganga, and more are also being gifted more and more chances at the top under Pochettino.

Going back a few years to the crop that advanced with Harry Kane, Andros Townsend, Jake Livermore, Tom Carroll, Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb and more also carved careers after their time with Spurs.

However, some people may not know that Harry Kane actually first signed with Arsenal back when he was eight-years-old, with the Gunners keeping him for a year before releasing him.

Fast forward over 15 years and Kane is England captain and one of the world’s best centre-forwards, so mistake is a bit of an understatement.

Football London interviewed the man in charge of releasing a young Harry, Roy Massey: “I thought you’d mention Harry Kane, thanks very much for that.

“But we haven’t got a crystal ball and there’s a number in that situation at Arsenal who’ve left and who’ve gone on and done very well for themselves. Harry was obviously a brilliant example.

“He played up front with Benik Afobe and you think today, Benik was outstandingly quick and scored a lot of goals.

“Harry was a technician, a very talented player but did lack some mobility and pace.

“We did think, perhaps he wouldn’t be quite up to playing at Arsenal Football Club. So I had to sit down with his mum and dad, and the lad, and say that he wasn’t quite up to the standard of Arsenal.

“Obviously they [the family] were very disappointed and so was I, because he was a really nice lad.

“He’s a top lad in terms of attitude but lacked a little bit of agility and pace basically and that’s why he was released.”

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