AS SPURS LOSE ANOTHER FINAL, SHOULD KANE LOOK ELSEWHERE?
by Farah Hussain
Harry Kane turns 28 years old in July. He has scored 164 goals in 237 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur, and is the current England captain, having scored 34 goals in 53 appearances for the national team. He is without doubt, one of the best strikers in the world.
But Kane has still not won a single major honour in his career.
The decision by the Spurs board and Daniel Levy to sack serial trophy winner Jose Mourinho, replace him with total novice Ryan Mason, all just 6 days before the League Cup final beggars belief. Spurs lost the final 1-0 to Manchester City and missed yet another opportunity to win their first trophy since 2008 (which was also a League Cup). There is no guarantee that Spurs would have won had Mourinho still been in charge, but they would have had a significantly better chance at winning had he remained in charge for the final.
Spurs have been difficult to watch this season and some fans and players were unhappy with Mourinho, his style of play, tactics and public criticism of players. However all of the reports suggest that Kane was one of the players who had an excellent relationship with Mourinho. He had faith in him and performed excellently under him. Kane must have been confused and disappointed by the decision to sack him.
There is an audio clip circulating on social media of what is allegedly Jamie Redknapp explaining that Levy got rid of Mourinho at the time that he did as his pay-off would have cost more had he won a trophy and/or finished in the top 6. If this is true, the Spurs board have put money ahead of winning silverware. It is an alarming thought if true. Spurs are not a club associated with winning trophies. In the last 30 years, they have won the following:
- FA Cup - 1991
- League Cup - 1999
- League Cup - 2008
Investment in the squad seems unlikely, particularly in the context of them being burdened by their new stadium. It will be worse should they fail to qualify for next season's Champions League - not only from a financial point of view - but also in attracting the big name, quality players.
Kane surely must be weighing up his options. Any professional player who gets to the top of the game wants to win trophies. Alan Shearer may pretend that having only ever won one trophy (the Premier League) in his entire career doesn't bother him, but deep down he must think about what could have been.
Ryan Mason said following the final that Spurs are 4-5 years behind Manchester City's level. Kane frankly doesn't have 4-5 years to wait. If he wants to win silverware, he needs to look elsewhere.
Manchester City seems the obvious choice with Sergio Aguero on the way out and Gabriel Jesus failing to fill his boots. They also have the money to convince Levy to sell to a Premier League rival.
Manchester United are also an option and as Roy Keane said recently, Kane could be the "main man" there. But there is no guarantee of trophies with United at the moment.
Could a move abroad be on the cards to Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Barcelona, or PSG? Most definitely, however Kane is likely to want to stay in England.
Either way, now is the time for Kane to make a decision about what he wants to achieve and where is best for him to achieve it.
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