Harry Kane: Potential destinations for Tottenham striker
The day many Tottenham fans have feared would eventually come looks to be edging closer following yet another trophy-less season for the north London side.
Harry Kane has been the focal point of the team for around a decade now and enjoyed an excellent 2022/23 campaign. However, chaos engulfed Spurs elsewhere and they ended the campaign in limp fashion, going out of the Champions League to AC Milan before finishing eighth in the Premier League.
The talk around Kane continues to be his lack of trophies and the upcoming summer transfer window could see the England captain’s time with Tottenham finally come to an end with a number of Europe’s giants on the hunt for new strikers.
Here are some of his potential destinations.
Karim Benzema’s exit from Real Madrid has left the Spanish giants in a bit of a pickle. Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo are contracted but the likes of Marco Asensio, Eden Hazard and Mariano Diaz are also leaving this summer, leaving Real a little light up front.
Kane is closing in on the all-time Premier League goalscorer record but has been identified by Carlo Ancelotti as his top Benzema replacement. Spurs have sold stars like Luka Modric and Gareth Bale to Los Blancos in the past and the two clubs‘ ’special relationship‘ may help Real get a deal over the line.
It’s a destination that looks a lot more likely than it did a few months ago, but Benzema’s flip-flopping over his future has poked Real into action and they will now step up their pursuit of Kane.
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Seldom has a summer passed without Kane being linked with a move to Manchester United, though this year the reports make more sense.
Erik ten Hag enjoyed a positive debut season at Old Trafford but lacked an out-and-out goalscorer to complement Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes. Cristiano Ronaldo left in a blaze of embarrassment before the World Cup, Anthony Martial remains as injury-prone as ever and Wout Weghorst arrived on loan but cannot be expected to be United’s long term fix up front.
Money could be tighter than usual at United given the potential sale of the club but with Champions League football secured as well a trophy success in the Carabao Cup, there are grounds to believe more silverware will follow for Kane should he make the move.
There are other potential forward targets for United and relations between the Red Devils and Spurs aren’t great. United haven’t signed a player from Tottenham since Dimitar Berbatov in 2008 and Sir Alex Ferguson was vocal about the displeasure of dealing with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy.
Fergie said of the ordeal in his book: „That whole experience was more painful than my hip replacement!“
The fact that Levy is so desperate not to sell to a domestic rival as shown by Manchester City’s unsuccessful bid in 2021 could open the door for Bayern Munich.
They opted for a somewhat striker-less approach under Julian Nagelsmann when Robert Lewandowski left but definitely need a figurehead up front with Thomas Tuchel now in the dugout. While Bayern won the title, their boardroom staff had a bit of a mare in 2022/23 and the whole club is in need of a thorough rebuild in the summer.
Bayern would be the sort of club where Kane could challenge for the Champions League title more consistently, but given he is 47 goals behind Alan Shearer’s Premier League record, he surely would rather stay in England.
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On this week’s edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth and Graeme Bailey to discuss Harry Kane, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Alexis Mac Allister, Karim Benzema, William Saliba & more!
If you can’t see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!