Real Madrid are out to capture Harry Kane but Spurs are determined to hang on to their star striker.
According to The Sunday Times the Spanish giants are lining up a record £200million bid for the England hitman, who scored his club’s equaliser in yesterday’s 1-1 draw with Southampton, his 21st league goal of the season.
With form like that it’s no surprise that the Tottenham terror is the hottest property in world football right now, and the ST says that Real “are prepared to make Kane football’s first £200m player, and exceed the £198m Paris Saint-Germain spent on Neymar”.
Article continues belowThe Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Yet despite the potential riches on offer, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy remains adamant that he will not sell Kane at any price. Why? Because he knows that if he lets Kane go it will send a message to manager Mauricio Pochettino that the Lilywhites are still a selling club, happy to develop young talent only to then sell them on to more ambitious clubs.
In conversation with Sky Sports, Levy was asked if Kane would still be at the club next season. “I’m 100% confident,” he replied. “Every single player that we want to keep, I can assure you will be playing for Tottenham Hotspur next season.”
Apparently Pochettino will continue at Spurs - and reject advances from other clubs - only if the current squad is not broken up.
So Levy knows that while the money would be most welcome, particularly at a time when White Hart Lane is undergoing an extensive renovation to the tune of around £750m, were he to cave in to Real it would likely cost him more than just the departure of Kane.
The ST says that Toby Alderweireld, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli could all be tempted to head to the exit in the event of Kane leaving, so there is much more at stake than simply losing their leading goal-scorer.
Kane is Spurs’ top earner on £120,000-a-week, a tidy sum but one significantly lower than some of his Premier League rivals, and the ST claims that Spurs are “ready to go close to £200,000 a week to persuade him to extend”.
That in itself might not be enough, however, with the player stating in a recent interview that trophies and titles must start coming the club’s way.
“I’ve always said, ‘keep progressing, keep getting better, start winning trophies’. That’s the aim. As long as the club keeps doing that I’m happy here.”
According to reports from Spain, if Real president Florentino Perez fails to prise Kane from the Lane then he’s likely to turn to his Plan B, which will be an attempt to lure Brazilian striker Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain.