The Premier League season hasn’t even started yet, but Harry Kane could be the key to settling the destination of the title before a ball is even kicked.
The England international has neglected to turn up for Tottenham training today in a bid to force a move away, with Manchester City thought to be his preferred destination, according to the Telegraph and others.
The move makes perfect sense for both Kane and City – Pep Guardiola’s side get their dream replacement for Sergio Aguero, and Kane gets the chance to spear-head a top team who are well-placed to deliver him all the big trophies he’s been craving, but which have eluded him in his career so far.
Of course, having that calibre of goal-scorer could be precisely what City need to ensure they do get their hands on major silverware again, with their rivals perhaps in a good position to catch up with them if they cannot bring in that much-needed successor to the legendary Aguero.
Liverpool surely won’t be as bad as they were last season if they can avoid those endless nightmares with injuries. Virgil van Dijk’s return will be huge for Jurgen Klopp’s side, while the signing of Ibrahima Konate should ensure they’re not relying on using midfielders like Jordan Henderson and Fabinho in defence as often as they did last term. There is some concern that Liverpool haven’t strengthened enough up front after the dip in form of both Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane last term, but Diogo Jota is another player who is ready to bounce back and make more of an impact after injuries derailed his progress in his first year with the club.
The big losers if Kane joins City would undoubtedly be Chelsea, who made a real splash in the transfer market last summer and went on to win the Champions League, but who have failed to address the one glaring weakness in their squad so far this summer.
It would be very harsh to say that Thomas Tuchel’s superb masterminding of the team’s Champions League success merely papered over some cracks, but going the distance over 38 games in such a competitive league is a different matter, and this Chelsea side don’t have the goal-scorers to come out on top, as things stand.
The Blues should be very alarmed by the fact that their top scorer in the league last season was penalty-taking midfielder Jorginho, on 7. Timo Werner proved a spectacular flop and hasn’t exactly got going in pre-season yet either. Kai Havertz has some potential as the team’s main forward, but is more of a false nine than a 25-30 goal-a-season player.
Chelsea fans will have gone into this summer full of optimism about another spending spree, but their ambitious targets have failed to come to fruition, with The Athletic reporting that they’ve more or less conceded defeat in pursuit of Erling Haaland, leading them to now chase Romelu Lukaku as an alternative. The trouble is, the Belgium international isn’t exactly itching to get out of Inter Milan either.
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Kane would perfectly fit the bill for Chelsea and give them that crucial edge over City, as Guardiola would then be hard-pushed to find an alternative to the 28-year-old. Quite simply, he’s the only elite forward likely to be on the market, and both Chelsea and City urgently need him.
The situation at the Etihad Stadium is still quite different, though, with Guardiola showing last season that he can win the title without relying on an out-and-out striker. Doing it for a second year in a row would be some challenge, but perhaps not a totally insurmountable one given that he has goal-scoring wingers like Raheem Sterling, Riyad Mahrez and Bernardo Silva in his squad. Chelsea would have to hope that Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech and Callum Hudson-Odoi could suddenly rise to that level, which doesn’t seem likely.
Spurs are highly unlike to consider selling Kane to Chelsea for any price, so it remains to be seen if the European Champions will even attempt this audacious raid on their rivals. Their best bet now is hoping that Daniel Levy holds firm and doesn’t grant Kane the move he wants.
Hyperbole and without foundation. Dreadful read