Harry Kane has put the world’s biggest teams on alert after he told Tottenham Hotspur he wants to leave this summer.
The England captain has reportedly run out of patience with the club’s failure to secure major trophies, and made it known he wants a move away.
The 27-year-old striker, who came through the ranks at Spurs and is regarded as “Mr Tottenham”, is said to prefer the idea of a move within the Premier League, although Spain is also an option.
But, with football’s transfer market so uncertain given the effect of the pandemic, which of the leading suitors would be Kane’s most likely destination?
Manchester United
Kane has made no secret of the fact he has eyes on Alan Shearer’s record as the all-time leading Premier League goalscorer. He needs 95 more to achieve that, which might be part of the reason he favours a move to another English team.
United, for their part, are said to be planning to spend big this summer, in an attempt to appease fans still livid at the club's owners over the Super League fiasco.
There is a recent precedent for a beloved Spurs striker engineering a move away and ending up at Old Trafford.
If Kane is to follow the path trodden by Dimitar Berbatov in 2008, he can be sure Daniel Levy, the Spurs chairman, will drive a hard bargain.
Expect negotiations to linger interminably, if this is the course of action that follows. Levy would likely hold out for more than £120 million ($170.2m).
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola tried to claim recently that Erling Haaland, Borussia Dortmund's wunderkind, will be beyond Manchester City's means when he is inevitably transferred this summer.
Whether that is true or not, the Norwegian striker does not seem an altogether perfect fit with City.
For all his extraordinary scoring exploits, Haaland did not excel in Dortmund’s matches against them in the Champions League, and is not a prototypical Guardiola forward.
Would Kane be a better replacement when Sergio Aguero departs the Etihad Stadium this month? Could City become The Harry Kane Team?
He has shown this season, by way of 13 assists for Spurs, that he is no longer the old-style, focal-point No 9 he was seen to be previously, making him a better fit for City’s fluid system. City is also said to be Kane’s preferred option.
Chelsea
Given Kane’s affinity with Spurs – he is one of their own – a switch from the north London club to their bitter rivals to the west seems inconceivable. A move up north would be just about bearable.
But to Chelsea? Stranger things have happened. If it did happen, Kane would likely attract much of the same scorn and hatred that was meted out to Sol Campbell when he swapped to Arsenal 20 years ago.
From Chelsea’s point of view, though, the move would make sense. The fact they have reached two major cup finals and are in the running for Champions League football next season qualifies as a reasonably successful campaign. Yet they have done it all without a regular goalscorer.
Since November, Timo Werner has scored only one more Premier League goal than Alisson Becker, the Liverpool goalkeeper.
Kai Havertz has been undermined by illness after his big money arrival, while Tammy Abraham appears to be on his way out.
Kane would guarantee a solution to those problems, and make Chelsea title contenders again.
Atletico Madrid
Atletico are on the brink of the Primera Liga title thanks largely to the goals of Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan striker has scored 20 goals in the 31 games since his surprise switch from Barcelona last summer.
He is 34 now, though, and Spain’s champions elect are making plans for the future in his position.
Kane has many of the attributes Diego Simeone, Atletico’s manager, values – chiefly that he is ultra-clinical in front of goal, but also with his work-rate and his nous at drawing fouls.
And ex-Spurs players have recent history of success at the Wanda Metropolitano. Kieran Trippier, Kane’s former colleague at Tottenham, has been an integral part of Atletico’s success.
Kane’s sudden availability may be a little too late for this move to happen, though. Atletico have reportedly sewn up the signing of Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan – despite the Argentina No 9’s protestations to the contrary this week.
Real Madrid
Florentino Perez, the club's president, has been clinging on vainly to his Super League dream as he hopes it will help revive the club's parlous finances.
The vast hole in their bank account means Madrid are not the irresistible force they once were in the transfer market.
However, they are still likely to spend this summer. What rank of Galactico they can afford remains to be seen, but they are apparently planning a firesale to finance it – with as many as 10 players, including Eden Hazard, said to be available for transfer.
Whether they can recoup enough to finance a deal for Kane is debatable.
And would they want him anyway? Karim Benzema, their current centre forward, has been one of their most consistent performers of recent times.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MORE ON TURKEY'S SYRIA OFFENCE
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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SANCTIONED
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
The biog
Most memorable achievement: Leading my first city-wide charity campaign in Toronto holds a special place in my heart. It was for Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women program and showed me the power of how communities can come together in the smallest ways to have such wide impact.
Favourite film: Childhood favourite would be Disney’s Jungle Book and classic favourite Gone With The Wind.
Favourite book: To Kill A Mockingbird for a timeless story on justice and courage and Harry Potters for my love of all things magical.
Favourite quote: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill
Favourite food: Dim sum
Favourite place to travel to: Anywhere with natural beauty, wildlife and awe-inspiring sunsets.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)
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Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
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How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
