Tottenham’s record goalscorer Harry Kane may leave the club at the end of the season.
Their exit from the Champions League at the round of 16 stage means another season without silverware for the North London club.
And with manager Antonio Conte almost certain not to renew his contract, Spurs face yet another rebuild in the summer.
Kane himself turns 30 in July and he knows that time is running out if he wants to win silverware in his career.
Record breaker
Earlier this season, Kane surpassed the record of legendary striker Jimmy Greaves to become the club’s all-time top goalscorer.
He has now scored 268 goals in 423 appearances since making his debut for them in a Europa League qualifying tie against the Scottish side Hearts in 2011.
Nine times he has managed 20 or more goals in a season for them, and he has won the Premier League Golden Boot award on three occasions. He was also named the Premier League playmaker of the season in 2020-2021.
Yet silverware in a Tottenham shirt has proved elusive. The closest they have come whilst Kane has been in the side were finishing runners-up to Liverpool in the Champions League final in 2019, and they have also been twice beaten finalists in the League Cup, in 2015 losing to Chelsea and six years later to Manchester City.
Tottenham’s trophy drought
In fact, Tottenham have not won a trophy of any kind since they lifted the League Cup in 2008.
Since then, not only have all the clubs they consider their main rivals – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United – won multiple trophies, but the likes of Leicester City, Birmingham City, and Wigan Athletic have all enjoyed trophy success.
The club has spent over £1 billion since then on a state of the art stadium that is now one of the best of its kind in Europe, but there has been no silverware to show off to their long suffering fans.
It was meant to be different under Conte
When Spurs appointed Antonio Conte as manager in November 2021, it was widely hoped that the narrative was about to change. After all, the Italian was a proven winner, as he had won league titles in Italy with Juventus and Inter Milan. And in his spell with Chelsea, he led them to Premier League and FA Cup success.
He did steer Tottenham to fourth place in the league last season, pipping neighbours Arsenal to Champions League football, and then oversaw a summer transfer spend that saw them spend big money to bring in the likes of Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, and Djed Spence.
However, the club have failed to progress this season. And although they might yet secure Champions League football for another season, that is by no means guaranteed with the likes of Liverpool and Newcastle now breathing down their neck.
What is even worse from the viewpoint of Tottenham fans is that the quality of football they are being asked to watch is poor. The team have acquired the reputation of starting matches slowly and then playing in bursts in the second half.
Kane is still scoring goals for them, but is often required to drop deep in search of the ball.
Comments by Conte after the AC Milan defeat that the club still needs to put in place the building blocks for success infuriated many fans who wondered exactly what the Italian has been doing for the past year.
Conte is out of contract at the end of the season, and there appears no appetite on either side for that to be extended.
Kane has been here before
Kane has been here before and he almost joined Manchester City during the summer of 2021 only for Spurs to refuse to sell him. However, he is out of contract in the summer of 2024. And although there are talks about a new deal, they have not progressed beyond the early stage.
Where might he go
Although there has been interest in Kane from the likes of Bayern Munich before, he wants to stay in the Premier League. In his sights is the all-time Premier League goalscoring record of Alan Shearer.
He managed 260 Premier League goals in his career, with Wayne Rooney in second place with 208.
Kane himself has 201 and will hope to get close to the Rooney mark before the end of the season.
However, there are few Premier League clubs that might take him. Arsenal are not an option, whilst there is no obvious vacancy at clubs like Manchester City and Liverpool.
He could join the Chelsea project, but Manchester United seems the obvious choice at this time.
●●●
VISIT OUR BLOG TO GET YOUR FIX FOR ALL OF THE MOST CURRENT FOOTBALL NEWS STORIES & FEATURES
