While most EPL players had to hate the sudden halt in action due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Harry Kane might have seen the silver lining in the standstill.
Sidelined since New Year’s Day with a hamstring injury, Kane has been able to recover for the past month without missing any playing time. Just when he and the Premier League returns to action remains to be seen, as league officials try to decide how to handle the rest of the current season.
Now healthy and ready for action, Kane has joined the ranks of those anxious to see play resume as soon as possible.
“I know the Premier League will do everything they can to finish the season and that they are looking at every option possible,” Kane said. “We do need to try to finish the season but there needs to be a point where enough’s enough. Playing into July or August and pushing next season back, I don’t see too much benefit in that.”
“Probably the limit for me is the end of June. If the season’s not completed by then we need to look at the options and just look forward to next season.”
Just where Kane will be next season is one of the big question marks heading into the summer. Kane’s current contract with the club runs until 2024, but there is no guarantee the striker will stay if a club like Barcelona, Real Madrid, or Bayern Munich come knocking. He recently acknowledged the possibility that he would consider leaving if he isn’t happy with how things are going at Tottenham.
“I love Spurs, I’ll always love Spurs but I’ve always said if I don’t feel we’re progressing as a team or going in the right direction, I’m not someone to stay there for the sake of it,” Kane said.
“I’m an ambitious player, I want to improve, get better and become one of the top, top players. It all depends on what happens as a team and how we progress as a team. So it’s not a definite I’m going to stay there forever, but it’s not a no either.”
Tottenham has had a taste of what life without Kane would be like during his recent injury absence, and it wasn’t pretty. Without Kane’s consistent scoring, Tottenham’s attack has grown stagnant, though Kane hasn’t been the only key player missing. Son Heung-Min has also been absent due to injury. Those combined absences coincided with Tottenham’s slide down the Premier League table, as well as their exit from the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 at the hands of RB Leipzig.
Kane has solidified his place as one of Tottenham’s greatest-ever players, scoring 181 goals in 278 first-team appearances. The 26-year-old has scored 21 league goals or more in four of his six influential seasons with Tottenham, while also being Gareth Southgate’s top striking option for the England national team. Since making his debut in 2015, Kane has scored 32 international goals in 45 caps for the Three Lions, including 12 in 2019 after winning the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup.
It is that track record for club and country that has potential suitors preparing to try and pry him away from Tottenham, but Kane still has some work left to do, assuming the Premier League completes the current season. Tottenham still has an outside chance of securing a Champions League place, and even if Spurs falls short, the summer transfer window could give Tottenham a chance to reinforce the team and show Kane he should stick around.
Tottenham has plenty of incentive to do just that, especially after getting the chance recently to experience life without Harry Kane, and after being reminding how tough things can be without him.
