Tottenham will have to break their wage structure in order to prevent Harry Kane from joining the likes of Real Madrid, according to former Spurs forward Les Ferdinand.
Kane has developed into one of Europe's elite strikers over the last few years, with his goalscoring feats helping to elevate Spurs to consistent challengers for Champions League qualification.
The current campaign is the fourth in succession where Kane has managed to score more than 20 Premier League goals, with his tally of 23 in 26 appearances suggesting he is on track to beat his personal best of 29 from last term.
But the main difference for Kane this season has been his emergence in the Champions League, with his strike against Juventus in Spurs' impressive 2-2 draw on Tuesday taking him to seven in six games, just two shy of Cristiano Ronaldo.
And Ferdinand – who held coaching roles at the club under Harry Redknapp, Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood – when asked whether Spurs will be able to keep Kane for much longer, told Omnisport ahead of the London Football Awards: "That's the million dollar question.
"I think they'll have to break their wage structure and sometimes you get special talents that you have to break the wage structure for if you want to keep that player.
"If Tottenham want to be competitive and continue to finish in the top four, then first and foremost they need to start winning things.
"That's the thing that'll probably keep Harry because he's a Tottenham supporter and he wants to see Tottenham win things.
"So, if he could be part of that and earn what his quality deserves, when you look at what everyone else is earning, they've got a good chance of keeping him."
Ferdinand is also adamant that Kane is already among the very best strikers in Europe, suggesting only Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is rivalling the England international in the Premier League at present.
"If you look at strikers in the Premier League and Europe at the moment, you have to put Harry up there with best of them," he said.
"He's got everything he needs for his game. He's keeping free of injury which is a key thing, but left foot, right foot, headed goals – he scores all types.
"If you look at the form guide, it's probably Salah – who is on fire for Liverpool at the moment, scoring lots of goals – who is the only one that could probably rival Harry in the Premier League."
Ferdinand was speaking after the QPR in the Community Trust was nominated for the LFA's Community Project of the Year award, after their work to host the 'Game4Grenfell' match in support of those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire last June.
