Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane has told the club he wants to leave this summer, sources have told ESPN, but where could the England captain move to?
Sources have told ESPN that Kane would prefer to remain in the Premier League. But will chairman Daniel Levy be prepared to sell to a rival club? Will another club in England be able to afford the £150 million it may take to convince Spurs to sell?
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Kane, who has three years left on his contract, has grown frustrated over a lack of silverware at Tottenham, and the chance of Champions League football next season is nothing more than a faint hope.
Sources tell ESPN that the England striker wants a quick resolution to this situation, a desire borne from a belief that Levy will honour an agreement to look more favourably at a transfer this summer after Kane asked to leave last year as well. He will be 28 at the start of next season, and believes he must move on to make the most of his prime years as a striker.
Kane has scored 165 goals in 243 appearances for Spurs, which puts him seventh on the all-time Premier League goal-scorers list. With 22 goals and 13 assists, only Bayern Munich‘s Robert Lewandowski (40) and Lionel Messi (39) of Barcelona have more goal involvements in Europe’s top five leagues in this season.
ESPN has assessed the possible moves open to Kane as well as the situation with Tottenham in light of this news.
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Man United | Man City | Chelsea | Real Madrid | Barcelona | PSG | Spurs’ perspective
Manchester United‘s interest in Harry Kane has not ended because Edinson Cavani has signed a new contract, sources have told ESPN, but their need for a striker in the summer transfer window is lessened now he has decided to stay.
Cavani has done well this season, but he’s 34 years old and there is an expectation he will return to South America with Boca Juniors in 2022. Even at 27, Kane represents a more long-term investment and if it becomes clear he really is to leave Tottenham this summer, United will be in the queue.
There is, however, a feeling at Old Trafford that it will be very difficult for anyone to sign Kane ahead of next season. Sources have told ESPN there are concerns about the fee Spurs could demand, given Kane has a contract until 2024, along with Daniel Levy’s reluctance to let his star player leave during a summer when he’s also looking to appoint a manager.
The perfect scenario for United is that both Kane and Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland — another player admired by boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer — remain at their respective clubs for one more year and then, if Cavani leaves, they are better placed to make a big offer. — Rob Dawson
Manchester City‘s priority in the summer is to sign a striker and Kane is one of the players at the top of their wish list, sources have told ESPN. Sergio Aguero will leave when his contract expires at the end of the season and Gabriel Jesus has struggled for form and fitness, so of all the Premier League clubs interested, City’s need is the greatest. There is also a view that Kane would not need much convincing to move to the Etihad Stadium given that his ambition is to win trophies and, under Pep Guardiola, City are the dominant side in English football.
After scoring more than 200 goals in all competitions, there’s little doubt that Kane has the quality to improve Guardiola’s team. The issue, though, is the transfer fee. City have shown in the past they will not be held to pay over the odds even for players they desperately want to sign. In an era of skyrocketing transfer fees, City have yet to pay over £70 million for a single player.
While Kane has made it clear to Tottenham that he wants to leave, chairman Levy is in a very strong position. Kane is in the prime of his career and still has three years left on his contract; it may be that City decide to wait. They needed a central midfielder in 2018, but didn’t get Rodri until 2019. When Vincent Kompany left in 2019 they needed a centre-back, but it wasn’t until a year later that Ruben Dias arrived. City are clearly prepared to be patient. — Rob Dawson
Chelsea have the funds to sign Harry Kane. They remain in active pursuit of Erling Haaland, who would command a comparable fee should he leave Borussia Dortmund this summer. Their need to sign a centre-forward is clear given Timo Werner‘s difficulties this season, while Olivier Giroud is set to depart and Tammy Abraham is likely to follow. However, of all the clubs Levy would want to sell to, the Blues are arguably at the bottom of the list.
There is bad blood between the boardrooms dating back to Chelsea’s pursuit of Luka Modric in 2011. Modric wanted to move to Stamford Bridge and Chelsea made an offer for the midfielder only to be rejected, with Levy issuing an accompanying statement condemning their behaviour after the failed bid was made public. Modric joined Real Madrid a year later. In 2013, Spurs thought they had signed Willian from Anzhi Makhachkala and even had the midfielder at their training ground on the brink of completing a move, only for Chelsea to outdo them at the 11th hour.
Kane has a young family — his third child was born in December — and the appeal of remaining in London is obvious. But on the other hand, Kane’s affection for Spurs is genuine, and it might be the case he would take a little convincing to play for a rival across the capital; that said, it’s probably not an obstacle that couldn’t be overcome by a huge wage and the ruthless pursuit of trophies at Stamford Bridge.
Regardless, Levy is aware of how unpalatable it will be for many supporters to see Kane join Chelsea, and it therefore may take some convincing to sell for that reason, too. — James Olley
Real Madrid have lacked a goalscorer ever since Cristiano Ronaldo left for Juventus in 2018 and strengthening in that area has been at the top of the club’s agenda since at least last summer, sources have told ESPN. However, their priorities in that position are Paris Saint-Germain‘s Kylian Mbappe and Haaland.
There are significant challenges involved in signing either, and Kane would be considered as an alternative if he becomes available. He has been of interest in the past, catching the eye in the 2017-18 season when Madrid and Spurs met in the Champions League group stage. Kane remains highly rated by senior figures at the Bernabeu, sources say, but at 27 has slipped behind the younger Mbappe and Haaland on the wishlist.
The likely transfer fee involved would also prove challenging for Madrid, who are calculating exactly how much cash they’ll have to spend this summer. The anticipated Super League windfall — which was expected to pay for a squad rebuild, including the signing of a superstar forward — will not now materialise, and the club will need to sell players to fund incoming deals. — Alex Kirkland
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Julien Laurens explains the financial difficulties that could complicate Harry Kane’s efforts to leave Tottenham this summer.
Barcelona were searching for a new striker even before letting Luis Suarez leave for Atletico Madrid last summer, club sources have repeatedly told ESPN. The Uruguayan’s departure only served to accelerate their need for a No.9, but the club’s debt is holding them back from going all out for their top targets.
The Catalan club have publicly courted Borussia Dortmund‘s Haaland, meeting the player’s agent, Mino Raiola, and Haaland’s father earlier this year in Barcelona. However, with Dortmund keen to hold on to Haaland for another season and the costs involved in any possible deal, Barca could have to look elsewhere.
Kane, along with Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez, has been mentioned in the local press as a possible alternative. However, neither of those two would come cheap and sources say several dominoes would have to fall into place for Barca to even consider a move for England captain Kane, who is seven years Haaland’s senior.
The costs involved in signing Kane, plus the position he plays, would have a knock-on effect on any potential move for Haaland in the future. Sources have explained to ESPN, therefore, that Barca are operating in a different sphere of the market, with talks ongoing with Memphis Depay and Sergio Aguero‘s camps. Both forwards are out of contract with their respective clubs next month and could arrive for free. Sources also told ESPN earlier this year that Real Sociedad‘s Alexander Isak has also been looked at as a “lower-cost” option. — Sam Marsden
Coach Mauricio Pochettino offers PSG an advantage no other club has — he managed Kane at Tottenham — but ESPN sources say that PSG sporting director Leonardo will only monitor Kane’s situation.
If Mbappe decides to leave then the club will actively look for a replacement of the same calibre, and Kane would be on the shortlist. However, if Mbappe decides to stay, it will be much harder to make the deal happen financially, especially as Neymar has already signed a new contact. That said, PSG do believe that they have enough money to keep Neymar and Mbappe and recruit another superstar like Lionel Messi or Kane.
Pochettino is preparing for the Coupe de France final against Monaco on Wednesday night at the Stade de France, but he has been made aware of Kane’s decision to move. He was a mentor and a father figure to Kane at Spurs, gave him his first-team debut and would obviously love to be reunited with him.
Pochettino also knows Kane’s agent, his brother Charlie, and although it could be difficult to convince the 27-year-old to leave London and the Premier League for Ligue 1, Pochettino would certainly carry weight in Kane’s decision. — Julien Laurens
And finally… the situation at Tottenham
Kane will have agonised over his decision to push for a move away from Tottenham, but in many ways, the difficult conversations begin now.
The 27-year-old has concluded his desire to win silverware will be better satisfied elsewhere and would prefer a move to another Premier League club. The immediate problem is Spurs do not want to sell and are very much opposed to the idea of strengthening a domestic rival.
Levy is a notoriously tough negotiator. Combined with the significance of selling Kane and the fact he has three years remaining on his £200,000-a-week contract, he has every right to demand a fee in the region of £150m.
Finding a suitable replacement will be a key element of any negotiations. In a comparable situation eight years ago, Spurs signed seven players for combined fees in excess of £100m before finally sanctioning Gareth Bale’s much-anticipated move to Real Madrid a day before the 2013 summer window closed. — James Olley