The biggest transfer saga of the summer has begun.
And it looks set to be the beginning of the end of Harry Kane at Tottenham.
Kane, who is 28 in July, wants to quit this summer to pursue his dream of winning trophies – and wants to stay in the Premier League.
Only last month, Kane admitted that he is frustrated at Tottenham in a clearest public hint that he wants to leave.
Kane said: “The goal right now as a player is to win team trophies, I want to be winning the biggest prizes as a team and we’re not quite doing that.”
(Image: Clive Brunskill/POOL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Now, the push has really begun with Kane angling to move – and that has put the biggest clubs on red alert with Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea ready to move for the England striker this summer.
But that is only half the story because Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is a notoriously difficult and strong negotiator who will not allow Kane to leave without a fight.
Levy has been through too many deals in the past with the likes of Dimitar Berbatov wanting to go to Manchester United which was an ugly saga before the ex-Spurs striker eventually moved to Old Trafford for £30m in 2008.
They drove hard bargains for Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Michael Carrick – and losing Kane would be like selling off the family silver.
Levy will not do it without one hell of a fight and is not ready to give in when Tottenham are, in fact, in a strong bargaining position.
(Image: Kieran McManus/BPI/REX/Shutterstock)
Kane has three years left on his contract. his current deal is worth around £200,000-a-week and he is irreplaceable for Tottenham which is why Levy cannot afford to let him go.
Levy would be certain to demand well in excess of £100m and would definitely rather sell abroad but a huge offer might test even his resolve because of the huge financial impact of the pandemic plus also the cost of a £1billion stadium.
But on the flip side, it remains to be seen whether any club will go to that sort of level after experiencing huge losses in the past 15 months.
Kane is also enjoying the best season of his career, he is joint top scorer in the Premier League with Mo Salah on 22 goals, has provided 13 assists and is in the form of his life.
He is heading into the Euros full of form and confidence but the beginning of a transfer saga must be of concern for England boss Gareth Southgate because even the ultimate professional would struggle not to find it a distraction.
(Image: Getty Images)
But it is a story that will drag on because Tottenham will not want to sell to a Premier League rival as selling Kane would also raise serious question marks over the future of Heung-Min Son and losing both of them would be a devastating double blow.
There can be no doubt that Kane is a world class striker, a great leader and talisman for Tottenham but for him to be compared to the likes of Kylian Mbappe or Robert Lewandowski then he needs the success to match his individual awards and statistics.
Kane famously said he would one day like to reach the levels of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, be compared to the best in the world.
Now Kane is putting his career and reputation on the line by trying to push for a move – and proving that he is worth the money and his place among the elite.
