After three months, one rejected bid, and a gentleman’s agreement which might not even have existed, we’re back where we started. Harry Kane is staying at Tottenham.
THE KANE SAGA 8 other times that a 'Gentlemen's agreement' shook football
The big question of ‘Will he / won’t he?’ has been answered, but others will be in the coming weeks and months...
1. How did we get to this point?
Back in May, just before the end of last season, news emerged that Kane had told Spurs he wanted to leave – after 12 years at the club.
Then came the Euros, of course – although that didn’t stop Manchester City making a bid reportedly worth at least £100 million, which Spurs swiftly rejected.
It was after the tournament that things really came to a head, though, as Kane failed to report for pre-season training, seemingly trying to force through a move and citing a supposed ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with chairman Daniel Levy.
With Levy unmoved and interest – for this summer, at least – apparently waning, Kane seems to have accepted that he has no choice but to stay put.
2. Will he be off next summer instead?
“I will be staying at Tottenham this summer,” Kane said in his tweet announcing that the saga was over.
Of course, it’s possible to read far too much into these things, but, if we’re playing devil’s advocate, could that mean he’ll be eyeing a move again in a year’s time? Perhaps even in January if Spurs endure a particularly rough first half of the season? (Not that it looks like they will, having opened the campaign with 1-0 wins over Manchester City and Wolves.)
Even if he doesn’t so explicitly state his desire to leave again, you’ve got assume there will be interest in his services – most likely from City.
3. Will the fans forgive him?
Football fans are a fickle bunch, as we know, and the answer to this question in these situations tends to be ‘Yes’, however long it takes.
For Kane, it might not take too long at all – and that’s because of the small matter of the first North London derby of the season, which takes place at the Emirates on 26th September.
Get the winner – or more – there and it could be almost instant redemption for the Golden Boot winner and Spurs’ leading Premier League goalscorer.
4. How will he fit into Nuno's system?
While Nuno has so far employed a 4-3-3 set-up as opposed to Jose Mourinho’s 4-2-3-1, Kane should still find himself reprising the partnership of sorts he enjoyed with Son.
That double act has proved extremely productive over the last couple of seasons, accounting for 69 of Spurs’ Premier League goals in that time. They should pass the 100-mark in 2021/22.
And let’s be honest, there was no way that Kane was going to be left out of any system once it became clear he was staying. That would be downright absurd.
5. Where will Spurs finish this season?
Had Kane left – and considering the probable difficulty of bringing in a like-for-like replacement – you’d have tipped Spurs to struggle this season.
In Son Heung-min, they still would have had a player with the potential to score 20 goals in a season – he managed 17 in 2020/21 – but losing Kane would, in a way, have been like losing players, considering his respective goals and assists tallies of 23 and 14.
Now that he’s staying, and with new boss Nuno Espirito Santo off to a promising start, things do seem to be looking up – and while Champions League qualification might be a stretch too far, a fifth-place finish has to be a realistic aspiration.
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