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Which Clubs Should Be All-In on Harry Kane?

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Matt Reed

Published May 20, 2021

Harry Kane, one of the world’s top goal-scorers is now looking for a new home after recently announcing he’ll be leaving Tottenham this summer. He preferably wants to stay in the Premier League, and ideally wants to find his new home before the Euros kick off on June 11th.

The soon-to-be 28-year old striker sat down face-to-face with club chairman Daniel Levy on Monday and expressed his desire to leave the club.

The move doesn’t come as a huge shock to the soccer community, but it’s a move that some thought should have been done sooner.

Kane is a Spurs man through-and-through. He grew up only 15 minutes from old White Hart Lane, and eventually joined the Tottenham Academy in 2004 at the age of 10.

Upon turning pro with Tottenham in 2009, Kane had brief loan spells with non-Premiership sides Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich, and Leicester City, totaling 56 appearances while netting 14 goals respectively.

Kane earned his first appearance with the Spurs senior team on August 18th, 2012 as a late substitute in a 2-1 loss to Newcastle United, and in 2014 he made his first Tottenham start against Sunderland.

The rest is history after that first start.

The England captain went on to net 165 goals in 241 appearances, which lands him 3rd on the all-time goals list for Tottenham. He’s only 11 goals off current 2nd place scorer Bobby Smith, but still would have quite the climb to beat Jimmy Greaves’s record of 220 goals.

Kane would leave the club tied for 2nd with Greaves on goals per match with an average 1.45, which is only fractions behind Bobby Smith’s record of 1.54 goals per match.

Kane now becomes the 2nd most coveted goal-scorer in soccer free agency this summer behind Borussia Dortmund’s 20 year old phenom Eerling Haaland, but some believe Kane is an equally valued asset as his Norwegian counterpart.

Kane won’t have the longevity or the generational talent that Haaland does, but what he’ll bring to his new club is rather invaluable; the ability to turn nothing into something. Kane was never surrounded by players who were on his skill level, and most of the time there was only a player or two who were even close in skill level.

With the exception of Son Hueng-ming and Gareth Bale, who was the predecessor to Kane as the clubs star.

The lack of overall talent around Kane at Spurs was a catalyst for his explosion onto the world soccer stage.

Kane was dominant under all of the five Tottenham managers he played for, including his year-and-a-half stint with defensive minded manager Jose Mourinho.

Kane is the textbook frontman, and has the ability to create space for others on the flanks with his hold up play and aggressive runs in at goal.

Off the field he’s an ideal leader as well. Teammates like playing with him, coaches clearly adore him, and despite harsh criticism from British media bashing him, he’s still producing for both club and country at an elite rate.

So now that we know Harry Kane is finally leaving his boyhood club, where will he end up?

Upon Kane’s announcement, the historical giants of English soccer made it known they are all in pursuit of the star striker. Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City are all interested in Kane and have reached out to Kane’s representatives in attempts to get the ball rolling on Kane getting in their clubs crest.

Despite reports from Kane’s camp that the EPL clubs are the favorites to keep him in England, it wouldn’t be a shock to see other European giants attempt to lure Kane away from his native England.

Let’s take a deeper dive into where this established superstar will end up next season.

Chelsea - Premier League

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The Blues desperately need a true #9 after the Timo Werner experiment fell short of expectations. Chelsea have seen the likes of Edouard Mendy, N’Golo Kante and Mason Mount elevate themselves to top-level Premier League players at their positions, but have been lacking that top-level player upfront. Kane would be the last piece of the puzzle for Chelsea.

That’s the big selling piece for Chelsea. They not only want Kane, they need him. Chelsea were in the FA Cup Final, are in the Champions League Final, and did it all without an elite goal scorer.

They are going to make Harry Kane the focal point of the club. If he goes to either of the Manchester clubs he’d have to share the spotlight. Chelsea on the other hand, will make sure the spotlight stays on the Englishman.

Chelsea will remain a strong contender to land Kane if they can qualify for the Champions League next season. If they fail and lose hold of the fourth spot on the league, it’d come as a huge shock if Kane went to a side that wasn’t in the Champions League.

Manchester City - Premier League

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City are the team to watch this summer. They’ll have their choice between Haaland and Kane, and the popular assumption is that they’d take the younger Haaland. Assuming they don’t get Haaland, I think Kane would be an equally great signing for a City team that’s been ruling world soccer without a true striker.

As much as I would love to see Kane receive tap in goals from the buildup play of Kevin de Bruyne and Phil Foden, I think there are a few things that are working against going to the blue side of Manchester. In addition to Haaland being the preferred signing, there’s also been rumblings about City offering Lionel Messi a one year deal, and the uncertainty about Pep Guardiola’s stay at the Etihad won’t be a reassuring factor once Kane decides to choose his next club.

However, if Haaland chooses to go elsewhere, I can see Harry Kane serving a similar role that Thierry Henry had for Pep during his time in Barcelona. It’d be interesting to see how Pep utilizes Kane if he decides to pull a Kevin Durant and join the defending champs.

Manchester United - Premier League

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Had Kane’s announcement came earlier, it’s doubtful that United would’ve given Edison Cavani another year on his contract. The productive, but aging, Cavani would take a clear backseat to Kane. A move to Old Trafford for Kane would make him the most prominent name at the goal-scorer role since Wayne Rooney.

I don’t have a crystal ball in front of me, but I think United are the favorites to land Kane. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is a fine manager, and having Bruno Fernandez and Paul Pogba in the middle of the park giving him the ball would be quite the scene.

This move would force the likes of Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford to adjust their games to fit the needs of Kane, but Kane's presence would free up lanes for the two young forwards.

England’s captain on England’s most historic club would be a great story line, and if Kane can lift silverware at United it’d be a story book ending to a magnificent EPL career.

Paris Saint-Germain - Ligue 1

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Here’s where we start to mix in the wild card clubs to the race. None of these teams have made public statements about their desire to sign Kane, and Kane has made it clear that he’d like to stay in England. But this is European soccer, so anything can happen and surprises are to be expected.

A move to Paris would see Kane reunite with former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, a manager who capitalized on Kane’s talent during his stint in North London. Kane scored over 20 goals in every season under Pochettino, and there’s little reason to wonder whether that'd happen in a weaker French Ligue 1.

This move seems unlikely with the extensions of Neymar and Mbappe, and Angel Di Maria remains a viable option upfront. But don’t be surprised if you hear rumblings about PSG looking to get in on the Kane sweepstakes.

Juventus - Serie A

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If PSG is a dark horse, then Juventus is the long shot club in this race to land Harry Kane.

This move only happens if Cristiano Ronaldo decides to leave Juventus. Speculation about Ronaldo’s departure has sparked after Juve’s struggle in Serie A this season.

Missing the Champions League would be an additional red flag for Kane’s camp though. Juventus would have to throw the bag at Kane, but knowing their financial situation that most likely won’t be an option.

Tottenham Hotspur - Kane Stays

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Break-ups are always hard. Sometimes you say you want to leave, and then the next minute your significant other is on their way over for a movie date. Maybe Harry Kane is looking for attention from others and will crawl back to Spurs, but it’s extremely unlikely we’ll see Harry Kane wearing a Tottenham kit next season.

Regardless of where Harry Kane lands, he’ll be a must-watch player next season, and during this summers Euro’s. Let’s see if he can perform for his country while his club future is undecided.