Eight years after Tottenham sold Gareth Bale for a world-record £85million fee to Real Madrid, Daniel Levy faces another conundrum over whether to allow Harry Kane to leave.
And former Spurs manager Glenn Hoddle thinks they must consider a similar approach to when they sold Gareth Bale if they sell their star striker this summer.
Kane has made no secret of his desire to leave the club this summer after watching the club extend their trophy drought to 13 years and miss out on Champions League football.
Manchester City have been strongly linked with a £100million move for the 27-year-old, who has hit three goals for England at Euro 2020.
Hoddle is of the opinion that Levy must think carefully about how to divide up the proceeds from Kane’s sale, targeting where the squad needs improvement rather than replacing him with one star name.
But he also believes Kane will find it difficult to break away from his Tottenham contract, which is currently set to run until June 2024, until Levy is satisfied with the deal in front of him.
“He’s got a three-year contract left so it’s not like he’s not at the end of the his time and has options,” Hoddle said, speaking at a Betfair event.
“If he is going to leave, Daniel Levy will be after top, top dollar.”
As Gareth Southgate’s side prepare for the semi-final clash against Denmark on Wednesday, the subject of Kane’s future has taken something of a backseat.
(Image: Pool via REUTERS)
But Spurs’ appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo as their new manager has inevitably raised the possibility of the Portuguese being forced to cope without Kane heading into the new season.
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It is believed Spurs will hand Nuno the funds to replace Kane if he is sold, although the official line from the club is that Levy is refusing to sell.
The Tottenham chairman faced a similar situation when Bale requested to leave. He ended up staying for another season before sealing a record move to Spain in August 2013 on deadline day.
The north London club had prepared for his departure with no fewer than seven new signings, including Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela and Roberto Soldado.
(Image: Getty Images)
It has been suggested that Levy could demand a player-plus-cash package for Kane from Man City, who reportedly could offer up to five players in exchange: Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, Gabriel Jesus, Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte.
But Hoddle thinks that the deal must be right for Spurs so that Nuno can start reshaping his squad as the club prepare for a season of transition – just as it was when Bale left in 2013.
“The players that might be exchanged may not be what Nuno wants. If he does go, it will have to be for a lot of money because it needs a rebuild at Tottenham,” he added.
“They should not go out and buy a player to replace Harry with a player worth £100m. No, we’ll need two centre-backs, a midfielder and a striker.
“This is the issue the club have got. But that pot needs to be built up and this is what Nuno will know too.
(Image: @SpursOfficial/Twitter)
“Unfortunately for Tottenham fans, this should have happened two years ago when they won the Champions League.
“Daniel Levy will know what figure he wants to get and if a club hits that number, you know he [Kane] would move. If he leaves for the right money, the fans will understand.”
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