Harry Kane has been warned he risks wasting his career at Tottenham if he fails to move to either Manchester City or Manchester United this summer.
Kane is on course to become the club’s record scorer, while he’s in contention to break Alan Shearer’s Premier League record, but he is yet to win major silverware with Spurs.
‘It’s a huge summer for Harry Kane. If he doesn’t leave Tottenham now, he never will. He’ll finish as the club’s record goalscorer and have a statue built outside the stadium if he stays but at the expense of winning the trophies his talent deserves,’ Murphy wrote in the Daily Mail.
‘I’m sure he’s thinking about it every day because time isn’t on his side. Right now, he is among the best three strikers in the world and would improve any team.
‘But he turns 28 this summer, with younger models Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe becoming increasingly attractive to the elite clubs every year.
‘Kane clearly loves Spurs and wanted to give Jose Mourinho every chance this season. But they are miles off challenging for a Premier League title or Champions League so now it’s decision time.
‘Does he want to be like Thierry Henry, who left Arsenal for Barcelona and won the Champions League? ‘Or Jamie Vardy, who stayed at Leicester when he was coveted by other clubs and could have won more silverware but will be remembered as the Foxes’ greatest player?
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‘One thing looks clear. From this summer onwards, future offers will be harder to come by. So I do think he should twist rather than stick.’
‘Kane’s situation is complicated by having another world-class centre-forward in the marketplace in Haaland, while Mbappe, the hottest property of the lot, might want to sample life outside Paris Saint-Germain at some stage,’ continued Murphy.
‘Picking the right club would also be vital for Kane, who doesn’t have the luxury of helping to build a long-term project.
‘For example, Manchester United would be improved by signing the England captain and could afford his transfer fee and wages but, for Kane, is it worth leaving Spurs without that guarantee of immediate success?
‘United might still be a year or two away from winning the big trophies which makes me think Manchester City looks a better fit.
‘City are blowing everyone away at the moment but Pep Guardiola is too shrewd to want to go into next season relying on Gabriel Jesus or a ‘false nine’ now it’s clear Sergio Aguero is playing fewer games.’