Harry Kane’s interview with Gary Neville caused quite a stir at the time, and looking back it now provides some clues over how the Tottenham star’s transfer situation might be looking in the coming weeks.
See below for Kane’s quotes to Neville in full, with the England international perhaps most strongly hinting that he’d like to join Manchester City to link up with assist machine Kevin De Bruyne, with a move abroad not of particular interest to him as he dreams of becoming the Premier League’s all-time leading goal-scorer…
“I guess injuries would be the biggest thing [in stopping me getting the record], obviously I’ve had injuries, ankle injuries and I haven’t had anything that’s kept me out for months and months touch wood but I guess for me I think injuries would be, be the biggest thing stopping me,” Kane told Sky Sports pundit Neville.
“Of course there’s always the option of maybe moving abroad one day but I don’t think that really interests me in the near future.
“Injuries I guess in my mind would be the only things but I feel like I’ve got a good seven or eight years at the top when you look kind of the Messis, Ronaldos … your Ibrahimovics all kind of getting better as they get, reach their early 30s.
“I’m still 27 so I’ve still got a, hopefully a long way to go so I mean yeah it’s definitely there, I’m still obviously quite a way off but you know I, I like to think consistently I’ve scored 20 plus in my injury free seasons in the Premier League so if I can do that for the next four or five years then, then it will be, it’ll be there.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t [want the Premier League record], I think if I get to the end and I haven’t broke that record and, and the Wayne Rooney England record then I’d probably be a little disappointed in myself to be honest but it’s definitely there if I carry on doing what I’ve been doing so I guess yeah it’ll just be a, a great sign of consistency over many years.
“I mean Shearer’s record is incredible when you think about it, 260 goals. I guess it’s just that little bit of motivation there just to push me and hopefully go beyond that.
“I’ve been at Tottenham since I was 11 years old, over half of my life there. A lot of ups and downs along the way you know.
“I had to work extremely hard to get to where I am but yeah just love the club. Love the fans. Like I say, huge part of my life. Obviously this season has been a little disappointing from my club’s point of view but we’ve had some good years over the last five or six years now, I guess we just got to see where that goes.
“[Those two seasons] I feel was a big opportunity for us. We had a title race for Leicester obviously, we didn’t quite get there the season after with the title race with Chelsea.
“Season after that we get to that Champions League final so we were in a real good place. Of course we didn’t win anything and we couldn’t quite get over the line but I feel like we was in a real good place with the team.
“For one reason or another we didn’t quite do what we needed to do and kind of where we’re at now I feel like we’re kind of at a rebuild stage again if I’m honest.
“It’s disappointing, I feel like the opportunity was definitely there. I’m not going to say it’s not there anymore of course, football… one or two good players can take the team over the line with Liverpool and City and teams like that, but for sure I feel like it was an opportunity missed for the club to do something special.”
“Oh De Bruyne for sure,” Kane said when asked about which player he felt he’d link up best with. “When I watch De Bruyne play he’s a special, special player and some of the balls I see him put in for City are just a striker’s dream if I’m honest but yeah he’s an outstanding.
“You’ve seen him, he’s an outstanding player with the ball, off the ball, pressing, but his delivery is as good as I’ve ever seen to be honest.
“It was pretty much completely different [under Jose Mourinho compared to Mauricio Pochettino] if I’m honest. Just in the style of play, the way they set up, tactical training we would do. Obviously Mauricio we did a lot of gym work, it was a lot gym base whereas Jose wasn’t so much into that but Jose obviously expected us to be men and act like men on the pitch, have leaders on the pitch.
MORE: Manchester City open talks to sign Harry Kane
“To be honest, that’s probably where it didn’t quite work out with Jose we didn’t quite have enough leadership that we needed at the time.
“Obviously the club was in a difficult stage, with Mauricio getting sacked it’s never easy a new manager coming in.
“I think with Jose I had a great relationship with him, we got on from minute one. I think we understood each other, we had a similar mentality and how we saw stuff on the pitch, off the pitch and mentality in training so we kind of built that relationship.
“Again it’s a shame we couldn’t go on to win things but I’ve been lucky enough to work with Mauricio and Jose, they’re two incredible managers that’s only helped me in my career for sure.
“I mean, it’s not like he’s against [sports science]. It’s not like he says I don’t want you to it but it wasn’t what he thought of doing first and foremost.
“It was more on the pitch, this is what we need to do, this is how we need to set up. Training on the pitch then he almost left you to be professional outside of it, he didn’t kind of look after it and babysit it.
“We still had gym sessions that sports science guys would put stuff on but he wouldn’t, he kind of expected that almost. You know, we’re professional footballers, he shouldn’t have to tell us to do gym it should be a given.
“Jose’s got so much experience in the biggest of games at the biggest of clubs and that’s what I mean by saying we had a similar mentality in that aspect like ‘Do anything to win’ and that’s the game.
“Jose just wanted to win. That was the mentality he was trying to put into the players at Spurs, do anything to win and I think like you said we did become more streetwise, but maybe there was relationships that didn’t quite work there but from my point of view, he was great for me.
“I was surprised, I mean I’ve said that before. I was surprised at the timing of it [Mourinho’s sacking]. Like you say, it was the decision of the club, Daniel would’ve had his reasons for doing it but I was surprised obviously.
“Jose’s a winner, we know Jose’s record in finals and things like that so… I said before we found out maybe five minutes before everyone else did. Whether it was something they thought about for a while or it was just an in the moment decision, I’m not too sure.
“We found out not long before everyone else., but I mean look, I understand chairmen have to make a tough decision in tough time so I’ve never knock someone for doing anything because I’m not in their positions and I don’t know all the ins and outs but yeah sure I was surprised.
“But look Ryan Mason has come in, full credit to Mase, I think Mase has done incredibly well to handle all the situation. It’s not easy coming in when a managers been sacked, obviously it’s his first kind of role, in first team management.
“He’s played with a lot of us, so ain’t easy coming in and being a manager but he hasn’t tried be to like this power hungry manager. He’s just come in and been himself and I think the boys have really taken to that.
“Mauricio was great from the moment he come in. He came in and I was a starter and I was straight in the team but it actually took a little while, two to three months,” he said
“I had an injury the season before at the end of the season, I come back pre-season a little overweight. I hadn’t been able to train so I come back, I wasn’t as fit as [I could have been].
“I just wasn’t as sharp as I could’ve been, but he was the perfect guy for me to come into because we worked so hard, training was so tough.
“We did a lot of work in the gym. I was at a real development stage of my career. I was kind of just developing into my body and things like that and with that extra training, extra gym work kind of his guidance at that aspect.
“He gave me a lot of confidence. I’d been playing Europa League with him, scoring goals and been waiting for that opportunity in the Premier League and thankfully the goal at Villa away.
“I scored that deflected free kick and from then, I obviously pretty much started every game with him. We built up a real good relationship. We understood each other, not just football but personal as well.
“We had some great years and great moments and obviously would’ve loved to have won something with him, won a trophy with him. It didn’t quite happen but I will always cherish the relationship and the years we had together for sure.
“We didn’t know a thing about it [the Super League plans] so we were as surprised as anyone else, we kind of woke up and were going in to this Super League so again I agree, I agree I didn’t like the idea of it,” he said.
“I think just the competitiveness like not to be able to, if you’re not winning the league, what are you playing for?
“There has to be some reward for being top four or top six or so that aspect of it I just really didn’t like so I’m happy with, with the outcome.
“I’m sure there’s going to be some sort of second wave probably not as, as much as what it was obviously. I think they really underestimated the reaction of what it was going to be like for, for players and fans. We’ll have to wait and see but I’m, I’m happy that it didn’t go through.”
Addressing injuries again, he added: “I’ve done a few [ligaments] on my right and a couple on my left, but I mean when you look at the injuries and I know people say ‘oh he’s got ankle problems’ but yeah my ankles are as good as they ever have been.
“When you look at all the injuries there’s always been contact, they’ve always been caught under a player as they’ve slid.
“I mean when you watch me shoot or watch me finish a lot of time I kind of ankle goes underneath me a little bit anyway so I’ve always had that, that type of ankle but I don’t feel like I’ve got ankle problems, I don’t feel like in the future it’s something that will keep me out for a long time.
“I feel like this season especially I’ve been in as good a place as I have for, for the last two or three years.”