Seventy-four goals in three Premier League seasons is the kind of return you would be satisfied with even if you paid upwards of £50 million for your star striker. That satisfaction turns into sheer joy if that player is from your own academy. This is the case Tottenham Hotspur fans like to point out when they sing ‘He’s one of our own’ each week in praise of Harry Kane.
It’s been a fun-filled three years at Tottenham Hotspur with their new-found belonging among the big boys coinciding with the rise of Harry Kane. But the team from North London have not yet claimed their place among the big boys when it comes to finances. Their highest wage earner is the talismanic French goalkeeper and captain; Hugo Lloris; who is on £120,000-a-week – which is nothing in comparison to any of the other so-called ‘Big 6’ of the Premier League.
Big players do need big wages to commit their future to clubs, besides the obvious lure of silverware. It’s easy to see that the £100,000 the English striker pockets every week hardly justifies his contribution on the pitch. One team that can guarantee big wages and silverware – and there’s no prizes for guessing it – is Real Madrid.
The back-to-back UEFA Champions League winners haven’t had the best start to their 2017/18 season, with their lead striker Karim Benzema woefully out of form. The Frenchman’s career league record of 0.48 goals per game for Los Blancos is well short of Harry Kane’s average of 0.69 goals per game for Spurs. In a team full of world class talents behind him, those numbers leave a lot to be desired, and one wonders how the Frenchman hasn’t got the cull yet, given the riches of Real Madrid.
Not only for his club; the former Leicester City and Millwall loanee has been scoring for fun for the England national team as well. His record reads 12 goals in 23 appearances and he will be looking to lead the line in 6 months’ time at the World Cup in Russia. The likes of Florentino Pérez might well be keeping an eye on him during the mega event and one only has to look back to 2014 when Golden Boot winner; James Rodríguez; changed clubs immediately after the World Cup in Brazil, in a staggering £71m million deal from Monaco.
With no silverware to show for his exploits and at the ripe age of 24, the prospect of a move to the Spanish capital might be too attractive an offer for Kane to turn down. Tottenham Hotspur must let the cash flow if they aim to keep hold of their prized asset and assert themselves as a big club in England, as well as Europe.
Harry Kane might well be the final piece in Real Madrid’s quest for being one of the best teams the game has ever seen. The question that remains though – at what price will Tottenham Hotspur be ready to part with one of the best talents in the world, having done so half a decade ago in an £85.3m deal for a certain Welshman?
