After years of will he or won’t he, it appeared as though Harry Kane would finally be leaving Tottenham this summer.
The England skipper has just 12 months left on his deal. The entire situation seemed to be a perfect storm for both Manchester United and Real Madrid.
Erik Ten Hag is in the market for a new centre-forward having parted ways with Cristiano Ronaldo in January.
Anthony Martial’s injury problems mean he isn’t reliable enough while Marcus Rashford’s rich vein of form last term arrived from the left side of the attack.
Kane has reportedly topped United’s wishlist for a number of years across multiple managers. The situation has never favoured the Red Devils though.
It appears as though this might be the case again with the impending takeover hanging over the club slowing down any summer business.
Real Madrid weren’t supposed to be in the market for a striker this summer but Karim Benzema’s sudden departure has left a gaping void within their team that needs to be filled.
Having weighed up a move for Kai Havertz, Spanish media claimed Kane was the player favoured by Florentino Perez.
Harry Kane - to sign for before 3rd September 2023 (via Sky Bet)
- To stay at Tottenham - 4/6
- Real Madrid - 3/1
- Manchester United - 4/1
- Bayern Munich - 12/1
- Chelsea - 12/1
Kylian Mbappe has thrown a spanner into the works though.
By all accounts, the 24-year-old isn’t going to extend his stay in the French capital beyond this season and PSG could be forced into selling him so that he doesn’t leave on a free.
Given the explosive forward has been Perez’s obsession over recent years, it has come as no surprise to see Real Madrid pivot their efforts into luring him to Spain, with Kane now an afterthought.
Manchester City was a potential destination for Kane a couple of years ago now but the treble winners seem settled with Erling Haaland leading the line, so the Spurs No10 isn’t exactly spoilt for choice right now.
Unless something remarkable changes, Kane will be plying his trade for Tottenham next season.
This could be exactly what new manager Ange Postecoglou needs.
Initial reports following his unveiling claimed Spurs could cash in on Kane to give the former Celtic boss funds to put his stamp on the squad.
However, goals are the leading currency in the Premier League and Kane is one of the most prolific players in the competition’s history.
It hasn’t exactly been a stable environment for the England skipper over recent years.
Spurs went as far as to sack their interim manager last season. Yet Kane has been consistent. He’s scored a minimum of 17 Premier League goals every season since his debut campaign in 2014/15.
It went a little under the radar due to the goalscoring exploits of Haaland but the 82-cap England international scored 30 times last term, matching his career-high best from back in 2017/18.
They weren’t exactly concerns but many wondered whether he had lost that ruthlessness having developed as a playmaker. He’s one of the most well-rounded forwards in world football but he hasn’t been a 30-goal-a-season striker for some time.
Across the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons, Kane chipped in with 23 assists and scored 40 goals. Still a fantastic return but at one point in his career, across three campaigns, the centre-forward averaged 28 goals.
Following his 30-goal haul in 2017/18, Kane failed to score 20 or more in three of the next four seasons. He was still involved in goals - boosting his assist numbers - but he wasn’t the stone-cold penalty box predator he was during his earlier years.
That was until last season.
He was responsible for 43% of the Premier League goals scored by Spurs during the 2022/23 campaign.
What changed?
Well, one key tweak was where Kane was taking his shots from. Last season, just 24% of his attempts were from outside of the penalty area. A significant reduction on the 35% from the 2021/22 campaign.
Kane had fewer shots in general last season (123 to 133 the season prior) but had more efforts from better areas, hence the higher expected goals (xG) total.
Sometimes, less is more. It was a subtle tweak but it paid off. He went from underperforming his xG to over performing.
Having a reliable goal threat will make Postecoglou’s life much easier.
Kane has fed off scraps and performed in a dysfunctional team. In fact, Spurs were in contention for a Champions League place for the majority of the season because of the goals scored by Kane.
He has the ability to carry a team while they familiarise themselves with what the new manager wants. Few teams have such a luxury and this is what makes Tottenham such an intriguing project next season.
But once the former Yokohama F. Marinos coach has settled into his role, we might actually see a better version of Kane.
Postecoglou turned Kyogo Furuhashi into a goal machine.
He finished with 27 goals in the Scottish Premiership last season. Prior to that, his career high was 15.
On their way to the title last term, Celtic scored 114 goals. It is the most goals scored by the club since the 1915/16 campaign when they finished with 116 goals and it is more than the invincible side put together by Brendan Rodgers (106).
It puts into context the incredible work done by Postecoglou.
He took a squad struggling for an identity and turned them into one of the best Celtic teams ever, with a clear style and a hunger for goals.
If he repeats the trick at Spurs and gets them to play similar football to his Celtic side, Kane is going to have even more chances and much more space to exploit.
Kane could well rival Haaland for the Golden Boot next term if things click from the off for Postecoglou and his team.
It may surprise a few people but a Champions League spot could well be on the cards.
Premier League 23/24 - top four finish (via Sky Bet)
- Manchester City - 1/25
- Arsenal - 4/9
- Liverpool - 1/2
- Manchester United - 4/6
- Chelsea - 13/8
- Newcastle - 13/8
- Tottenham - 7/2
All odds correct at 0930 BST (20/06/23)
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