Speaking on his podcast, Gary Neville has been discussing Harry Kane’s situation at Tottenham and how other clubs will view signing him.
Neville says that Kane is pretty much a risk-free signing, comparing him to the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney when they moved to Manchester United.
Kane is a three-time Golden Boot winner, so it’s fair to say he’s going to be a brilliant player wherever he goes, and Neville believes that he fits into that category of players who are worth their weight in gold.
“The news broke of him wanting to leave Spurs three or four days before my interview came out, so it had already broken at that point that there was a conversation to be had. I think that everyone recognised before that that this was a crossroads moment where Tottenham had come through this golden period where they’d gotten to a Champions League final and come second in the league and had a great period as a club and moved to a new stadium, but they have this exceptional player in Harry Kane and it’s a simple conundrum, does he want to stay at Tottenham and do what Matt Le Tissier or Alan Shearer did? You can have an exceptional career like that where you stay and don’t leave,” Neville said.
“Or does he do what someone like Rio Ferdinand did when he left Leeds United? Or Wayne Rooney when he left Everton? Other players over the years have done this and left and gone to other clubs that are more successful, and I think this summer is probably the moment where it will either happen or it won’t, maybe next year, but when Harry gets to 30 that moment may have gone. He’s gold, I use that phrase because when Manchester United signed Bryan Robson, Ron Atkinson said that he wasn’t even a risk it was like buying gold, and signing him would be like gold.”
“These signings, for me, are gold, like Rio Ferdinand, like Wayne Rooney, they’re gold, they’re just going to perform, Alan Shearer, just gold, and I look at Harry Kane and he fits into that category, any club that gets him is not going to be disappointed with what he delivers.”
Comparing Harry Kane and Rio Ferdinand sounds a little bit daft on the surface, but when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense.
Ferdinand, during his time at Leeds, was the best defender in the country, and Manchester United knew that signing him would elevate their side, and any big team who signs Harry Kane will be getting the best striker in the country.
Whether or not any team can cough up the cash to land Kane remains to be seen.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
