HARRY HAS TO LEAVE
Villas-Boas tells striker to quit Spurs
HARRY KANE has been told he must quit Tottenham to ensure he is remembered as a true great.
“If he has a hunger for trophies and for notoriety he would have to leave Spurs,” said former Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas, who gave the England striker his Premier League debut. “If he has no hunger for that, but wants recognition and stability, he would stay at Spurs.”
Villas-Boas was in charge at White Hart Lane between 2012 and 2013 when Kane made his Premier League bow, but the pair disagreed over how the player could best develop, and Kane was unwilling to leave on loan at the start of the 2013-14 term.
It was after Villas-Boas departed in December of that campaign that Kane truly came to the fore and following four seasons of 30-plus goals for club and country, the 24-year-old has found himself strongly linked with Real
Madrid. It is now 10 years since the club last won a trophy – the League Cup – and Villas-Boas, a Laureus ambassador, said: “Spurs are in that breakout moment of becoming a great football team – the new stadium, infrastructure, training ground is there, the team is building up, very well managed.
“The trophy cabinet is still what is missing for this great club. That is in the end what footballers chase – glory, winning.
“I think for Harry, one or two more years at Spurs wouldn’t be bad and then see how the club develops. With the new stadium coming through I also think that Spurs should have that margin from him.”
In Villas-Boas’ time in charge of Tottenham, Kane made just seven appearances and had disappointing loan spells with Norwich and Leicester. The England international recently detailed his frustration of that time, both with Villas-Boas’s insistence over another loan and his reluctance to regularly pick him.
“I wasn’t the best coach for Harry Kane, this is really important to say,” said Villas-Boas.
“I remember keeping insisting with him that the loan was better; he kept insisting with me that to stay was better.
“At that time we were playing Roberto Soldado more often. It was not an easy time for him.
“Of course, I was surprised at how well it turned out for him and the striker he has become – so powerful, a record-breaking striker.
“I attribute this to his own merit.
“He is a really welldriven individual and I’m glad for him that he has been able to turn it SOLDADO: Kept Kane out of Spurs team