Harry Kane likely knew what was awaiting him after he celebrated becoming England’s all-time leading scorer.
On the same day that he scored his 55th goal for his country, Antonio Conte resigned as manager of Tottenham Hotspur by “mutual agreement.”
Conte leaves after failing to end the London club’s 15-year trophy drought and Kane’s own trophy hunt. The Italian coach has a track record of success with Juventus, Chelsea, and Inter Milan, but despite spending over $140 million on transfers, he was unable to maintain that record at Tottenham.
Kane, who was presented with a golden boot ahead of England’s 2-0 win over Ukraine at Wembley Stadium on Sunday after surpassing Wayne Rooney’s scoring record, may wonder if any manager can turn Tottenham into a winning team.
“The individual honors are well deserved and incredible. But he wants to be a part of a successful team,” England coach Gareth Southgate said on Sunday.
Southgate was referring to the national team’s bid to win a trophy for the first time since 1966, but Kane’s club career is comparable.
Kane has surpassed late Tottenham great Jimmy Greaves as the club’s leading scorer and Rooney’s England total in the last two months. Team honors, on the other hand, continue to elude him, and a new round of turmoil at Tottenham has arrived near the end of another trophyless season.
Conte is Tottenham’s seventh full-time manager since the club’s last trophy, the League Cup in 2008.
Kane’s chances of breaking his own drought are dwindling at the age of 29. He will be 30 before the start of the next season, with a year remaining on his current contract.
“He’s got a big career decision to make,” former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said on Sunday. “I’ve been there myself, wondering if my team is good enough to get me medals. “Am I going to get what I want out of my career?”
Gerrard’s Liverpool career ended without a Premier League title, but he did win almost every other major trophy, including the Champions League in 2005.
While Kane has a decision to make about his own future, Tottenham must also consider the merits of selling while it can still command a large fee for its star player or risk losing him for nothing next year.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy was in a strong enough position to block Kane’s proposed transfer to Manchester City in 2021, when the player publicly addressed the prospect leaving. Two years later, the situation is very different, with Kane able to put more pressure on Tottenham’s hierarchy if he chooses to leave.
After signing Erling Haaland last year, City is unlikely to be interested in Kane again, but he has long been linked with Manchester United. After the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in November, United manager Erik ten Hag has made finding a top-tier striker a priority.
The price of Kane will be a major issue, with Tottenham reportedly valuing him at around $123 million.
He would certainly be a statement signing for prospective new owners of United, with Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and Jim Ratcliffe leading the race to buy out the Glazer family.
United’s American owners want the potential sale to be completed before the end-of-season transfer window opens, and Kane would be an ambitious target at the start of a new regime.
If Kane stays in England, United appear to be one of the few realistic options, with the player unlikely to want to join a London rival like Chelsea, while City and Liverpool have recently invested heavily in their forward lines.
Newcastle United, backed by Saudi Arabia, is another possibility if they qualify for the Champions League.
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Bayern Munich could all be options depending on the price.
The prospect of remaining in England would provide him with the opportunity to break Alan Shearer’s Premier League scoring record of 260 goals. Kane currently has 204 goals and is on pace to pass Rooney (208) for second place all-time.
Even in a Tottenham team that has struggled this season, Kane has scored 21 league goals, just seven fewer than Haaland.
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