LISTEN TO CONTE , HARRY... AND GET OUT BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE!
IF Harry Kane had any doubts about his wisdom in wanting a move away from Tottenham, Antonio Conte has probably dispelled them.
When Conte spoke – after the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea – about Spurs having “dropped a lot” and of the need for “patience and time” and of them being a team “in the middle”, Kane must have allowed himself a wry smile.
To think some people doubted whether leaving Spurs would be a good idea, he must have thought.
There was a stage when I was in that camp. Tottenham is a smashing club, with a beautiful stadium, a decent squad and splendid tradition.
Kane (right) could have helped make them truly great again. What a challenge that would be.
But he knew better than anyone that it was not going to be possible.
Recruitment has been flawed, as have managerial choices.
Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea kept evolving. Spurs stood still – at best. Kane knew it, that’s why he wanted out last summer.
Those words of Conte, essentially labelling Tottenham a run-of-the-mill, mid-table operation, could easily have come from Kane, one imagines.
If the standards at Spurs have dropped as significantly as Conte and, probably Kane, believe, then the England captain knows it will be a long and improbable journey for the club to challenge the current elite.
And, as he turns 29 in the summer, Kane really hasn’t got the time for that.
When the move to the Etihad did not materialise, Kane reaffirmed his commitment to Spurs and there was talk of a new contract.
Surely that is now an unlikely scenario?
The ramifications of the summer transfer kerfuffle have been felt all around Spurs.
Kane’s form has been patchy, to put it kindly, and supporters cannot help but wonder if the England skipper really is 100 percent focused.
You suspect that the idea he could, for a big fee, leave this summer, might not be as horrendous to Tottenham loyalists as it was last time.
He is not going to set the Premier League scoring charts alight this season, that is for sure.
And that could be a problem for Kane. Daniel Levy has privately valued Kane at £200million – well, this Kane is not worth £200m. This Kane might not be worth half that amount.
City would appear to be one of the few clubs who would have the money for him and they would probably judge the striker on previous seasons and not on this unusual one.
They might still go to £100m to get him.
Going into the World Cup, he will want to be scoring goals.
There will be three months of a new Premier League season, going into Qatar 2022, and Kane will want his confidence high.
And his confidence will be high if he is getting lots of chances and plenty of goals.
In their current state, that looks very unlikely to happen for him at Tottenham.
Which is why, this summer, it’s likely we will see Kane try for City one last time.