How Damaging to Tottenham Would Losing Harry Kane Be?
Harry Kane is Tottenham‘s third-highest goalscorer of all time. He is one of the best players in the world and is Tottenham’s primary scorer and creator. He’s arguably the best player in the Premier League and has the talent and ability to walk into any top team in Europe. So, how crippling would his departure from Tottenham be for the London club?
In short, it would set Tottenham back years in their pursuit of returning to consistent Champions League place finishes in the Premier League. Even during the seasons where Tottenham underachieved, Harry Kane has always been their bright point through it all. For this reason, he is a top target for Manchester City. Reportedly the current Premier League champions would need to shell out at least £150 million to tempt Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, to sell his most prized asset.
While Tottenham would gain a lot of money from the potential sale, there aren’t many players in world football who are suitable replacements for Kane. It’s essentially impossible to get a like-for-like replacement. Harry Kane is arguably a top-3 center forward in the world. Not only would Tottenham be losing a generational talent, but they would also be losing a penultimate professional and impactful leader in the dressing room.
Tottenham’s track record of replacing talent is also relatively poor. When they sold Gareth Bale in 2013, it was for a then world-record fee. They attained £85 million from Real Madrid. Those funds were reinvested in the squad by signing seven players; Roberto Soldado, Etienne Capoue, Vlad Chiriches, Paulinho, Nacer Chadli, Erik Lamela, and Christen Erikson. Lamela is the only player on that list who is still at the club. Christen Erikson, in my opinion, was the only signing of the seven who was worth their fee.
This summer is unique though for Tottenham fans. Daniel Levy decided to delegate some of his responsibility regarding club transfers by bringing in Fabio Paratici as their new director of football. The Italian was previously the DOF of Juventus from 2010-2021, where he led their scouting and transfers unit. Paratici amassed 19 trophies with the Turin-based club in his influential role over the first team’s development. He has a compelling track record bringing the right players in, but how will he fare in replacing Harry Kane if/when the time comes?
Image from here
Tracey H
Why does Kane want to leave at all? He’s well compensated since signing a 6 year contract in 2018. So with three years left on it, a new coach and a recently opened stadium, I just don’t get why the possible transition now?
Nate Bennett
It’s true! Good points. To counter that, Kane isn’t getting any younger and he’s yet to win a trophy in his career. I’m not sure if he has the patience to wait around for this Tottenham rebuild, because he strikes me like a player who wants to win now. For that to be achieved, he may have to leave Tottenham. Thanks for your comment!