Harry Kane’s prospect of leaving the club he joined at the age of 11 looks more realistic than ever, with the England international having indicated he is ready to leave Tottenham in search of trophies.

One of the great strikers of his generation, he would have no shortage of suitors if only his price was not prohibitive for everyone, but for the richest clubs in Europe. Spurs haven’t set a price for a player they don’t want to sell, but even if that position were to change, it’s hard to see them even entertaining offers under $ 170m (£ 120m sterling). That makes a select group of clubs that could find such funds.

Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United are all said to have an interest in Kane and there has been further speculation that Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino is looking to find the player he forged to become. a star in White Hart Lane. Which of these four – or a possible wild card – makes sense to Kane and might be able to tempt Spurs? We review below:

1. Chelsea

Perhaps Kane’s most underrated attribute is his ability to adapt to those around him and to tailor his game to his opponents. He might be a goal force, but Kane is leading an attack that everyone eats … and in recent years at Tottenham, he’s done everything from setting up the table to allocating options.

He’s exactly the kind of player Chelsea need to merge their talented but sometimes ill-suited frontline, which has produced eight fewer goals (55) than any other team in the top six. Thomas Tuchel and Frank Lampard have struggled to build partnerships through their attack that work consistently across a series of games. If nothing else, Kane, with the considerable financial reach of Roman Abramovich, offers Tuchel a clear point of reference as to who to adapt his other forwards with the exorbitant talent.

Timo Werner is not a natural main striker and would surely love a teammate like Kane, who can train defenders deeply and pave the same avenues for the German to rush into what Heung-min Son has so successfully exploited on the Spurs. Meanwhile, Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Hakim Ziyech would have a player to bounce on, one who could operate as much as a target man with the ball as a finisher.

Likewise, Ziyech and Reece James would have a player to aim for centers who is not far from Olivier Giroud in terms of air threat. Indeed, in the last five seasons of Premier League football, no one has matched Kane’s 18 headed goals (naturally, he also leads the division in right-footed goals and is even in the game. top four with his weaker left shoe).

Since Didier Drogba’s effectiveness waned, Chelsea have never quite found a number 9 that they and their manager really believed in in the long run, although it would not be wise to argue against Diego Costa s ‘he asserted the contrary. Suddenly, Kane changes that and pushes the Blues record to become title contenders for years to come.

The problem is, while some Spurs fans might sympathize with his desire to spread his wings in his later years, they wouldn’t be so sympathetic if he went from north London to the west, standing at the home of a club whose enmity with Tottenham has grown significantly in recent years. It was Chelsea who kept Pochettino’s side from the top of the Premier League in their best seasons. It would be hard to forgive Kane if he didn’t even leave the capital.

2. Manchester United

While the road from White Hart Lane to Stamford Bridge is rarely traveled, Spurs fans might not feel the same sense of betrayal if Kane left them for Manchester United. After all, it is a well-marked path taken by Teddy Sheringham, Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov. Sir Alex Ferguson and his colleagues didn’t find negotiating with Daniel Levy a pleasant remote experience in any of these deals, but they ultimately succeeded.

At United Kane, would add everything Chelsea need from him and fit relatively comfortably into the Old Trafford recruiting model, where there is a desire to recruit energetic and attacking young English talent. At nearly 28, he might not fit into that first category, but he would do well alongside Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood among others. When pitted against an inconsistent Anthony Martial and aging Edinson Cavani Kane this is a clear upgrade and with the latter he would have the kind of high level save option or partner of potential strike that Spurs could never find for him.

Indeed, it is difficult to argue against United’s signing Kane. They may find it less essential to buy a striker than any of the other clubs. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have scored 70 goals this season, an improved tally only by Manchester City and are blessed with options at the top of the pitch. What seems to keep them from competing at the highest level is a weak stable of defensive midfielders and perhaps a better partner for Harry Maguire. A more offensive alternative to Aaron Wan-Bissaka wouldn’t hurt.

If United got all of this and Kane they would look like a team capable of fulfilling the ambitions of the England captain. But adding just another striker to that team can put Kane in a more sophisticated version of his current dilemma, playing for a team that gives him the platform to show off his individual qualities without ever really looking like they can win the most. big price.

3. Manchester City

If it’s that silverware that Kane wants, there may be few safer bets than the team under Pep Guardiola. Manchester City have won the Premier League this season despite largely going without a central striker and will return to Gabriel Jesus alone when Sergio Aguero leaves at the end of the season. Although the Argentinian ultimately won his coach over, it should be remembered that at the start of Guardiola’s reign he had doubts about Aguero, who was the kind of Orthodox center-forward he had scared away at Barcelona.

Kane may have been more Aguero-esque before, but he’s not anymore. Not only is he neck and neck with Mohamed Salah as the Premier League’s top scorer this season, but he’s also well placed to prevent Bruno Fernandes and Kevin De Bruyne from being named playmaker of the season with 13 assists. decisive to its credit. . Thanks in part to a string of ridiculous early season hot shots in tandem with Son (Kane has just three assists in the league since the start of 2021), he’s still ninth in the league. fbref Expected helps rankings for the year, which tracks the likelihood that any shot chance created by a player will lead to a goal.

As he seeks to delay De Bruyne for the Premier League’s main creator award, there is something intriguing about the similarities between the two this season. The Belgian has often played as a center-forward for City in their biggest games this season and has done so in the way you might imagine Kane, a traveling playmaker who is quite more involved in the game. construction than a more traditional striker. Indeed, compared to Erling Haaland, the other star striker still linked with a move to Etihad stadium, Kane appears to be a more comfortable form of football even if he does not come with the promise of 10 years on top of the rankings that offers the Norwegian. .

It seems like the perfect choice for Kane and City and it should be noted that the latter have long been interested in the England international. The only potential fly in the ointment is that for all their owners’ wealth, City never spent the kind of money that would even be necessary to bring Tottenham to the negotiating table. Their record signing Ruben Dias cost them around half of what Kane would cost them and in April Guardiola claimed it was “impossible” for the club to sign a replacement for Aguero at the prices listed for top talent. Obviously, that’s not entirely true and just the fact that City have never spent such amounts before doesn’t mean they wouldn’t or could. But the potential impact of spending around $ 200 million on a player (and paying him a salary to match those costs) will not be lost on the club.

4. Paris Saint-Germain

If there is one club that has not hesitated to spend a lot on strikers, it is Paris Saint-Germain, who would surely be happy to place Kane between Neymar and Kylian Mbappe to create a frontline with more. more different ways to beat your opponents. There’s also no manager better qualified to develop the forward than Pochettino, who gave Kane his big Premier League break.

As for Tottenham, if they felt they had no choice but to accept Kane’s demands, this is the kind of deal they would favor: out of sight and out of mind. There would be no weekly reminder of their failure to put together a suitable squad for their academy graduate and his return trips to north London would be rare at best.

However, this still seems the most unlikely of the four avenues that are seriously open to Kane as it stands. PSG have their own issues to consider, from Mbappe’s new contract and Moise Kean’s future to Mauro Icardi’s struggles. Then there is the issue of balancing the player’s desire to succeed as a team and individual rewards.

Kane will be keenly aware that he can catch the 95 goals he needs to overtake Alan Shearer as the Premier League’s top scorer while competing for more trophies that matter to him and his club. At PSG, the Champions League carries the greatest weight and although the Parisians are still among the contenders, there is a good chance that several years in France could see Kane rack up a shipment of Ligue 1 and Coupe de France medals. without entering the prices he wants. for.

5. Wildcards

Usually, when a star Premier League player has grown unhappy, the next step is obvious: Head to Spain to prove yourself with Real Madrid or Barcelona. No more. Nor the funds to pay what Tottenham would like as it stands. The same would be true for Juventus even if they qualified for the Champions League. Bayern Munich have made their commitment to Robert Lewandowksi clear and it is largely that of the European clubs that are said to be in serious conflict.

For obvious reasons Arsenal are banned and Liverpool would likely find Kane out of their price bracket unless they sell one of their top three. Mohamed Salah has been linked with a move to PSG if Mbappe leaves, but even then Kane is not the natural replacement.

In other words, the options are limited for the player but maybe more for Spurs. They can hang on to a player who doesn’t want to be there if they want to and trust their favorite son wouldn’t burn bridges to get the shot he wants. But if they feel unable to keep a hand on Kane, they’ll have to take into account that he’s unlikely to move away.