The series of events in the Harry Kane saga are uncannily comparable to how circumstances unfolded for Christian Eriksen prior to his Tottenham exit.
So why were the two Tottenham superstars treated wildly different for making identical decisions? Eriksen was widely scorned, even completely ostracized, for so publicly, and prematurely, conveying his desire to leave Tottenham Hotspur.
Here’s Eriksen’s statement when he decided it was time to embark on a new journey.
"“I feel that I am at a stage of my career where I would like to try something new. I have the deepest respect for everything that is happening at Tottenham and it would not be something negative to stay. But I have also said that I would like to try something new. “I hope that something will be decided this summer. That is the plan. In football you never know when there could be a decision like that. It could be at any point. The best thing is always for it to happen quickly but in football things take time. “Real Madrid is a step up but then it would take Real Madrid picking up the phone and making contact with Tottenham and say that they want Christian. And that they haven’t done as far as I know. It all depends on Daniel Levy and there has to be another club too. Or I will sit down myself at the table and negotiate a new contract. You can’t set a date yourself. There aren’t many boxes that Tottenham don’t tick so if I have to move away, it would have to be a step up.”"
His statement fuelled widespread backlash, even wholesale condemnation, from Tottenham’s faithful. He instantly became a pariah in north London, making for a fractious and unbearable final few months at the club.
Eriksen’s statement had a severely damaging impact on proceedings in north London. It caused unimaginable unrest and discord behind the scenes. Eriksen was one of the team’s most influential players, so his decision to make public his desire to leave had an obvious snowball effect on the team’s overall performances. It was clear, as he dropped down Jose Mourinho’s pecking order, Eriksen lost the joy and desire to perform.
So why was Eriksen chased out of north London with a pitchfork, while Tottenham will do everything, including trying to hire Mauricio Pochettino or Antonio Conte, to convince their top gunslinger to stay?
First of all, Kane is inarguably more valuable to Spurs than Eriksen was.
Just over a week ago Kane strolled down the fairway of a pristine golf course with Gary Neville to discuss his future. Now viewed 1.2 million times, Kane made clear his intentions to win major honours, which was tantamount to an admission of a probable exit plan.
Kane unilaterally decided to chat freely with Neville. His choice to exclude Tottenham from his plans angered Daniel Levy, who felt he deserved some forewarning. Sound familiar?
So how do Kane’s actions differ from Eriksen’s choice to go public? If we’re honest with ourselves, other than the source of the controversy being one of the club’s best ever players, they don’t.
While the decision by both players to go public are identical, hopefully the results differ.
Tottenham chose not to act immediately on Eriksen’s plea to be sold.
Whether Levy couldn’t secure the perfect deal or due to the club’s inability to fill the void left by the dashing Dane, Spurs waited months before finally offloading Eriksen to Inter. The club’s prolonged activity contributed to a severe dwindling of Eriksen’s market value.
Waiting to make the deal also facilitated an increased level of animosity and resentment between Eriksen, the club and supporters. It became insufferable, with supporters jeering and heckling the blackballed Dane.
Hopefully the top brass have learned from the Eriksen debacle and, once Kane submits his official request for a transfer, sell him quickly to the highest bidder. (as long as that is not Chelsea)
Tottenham do not want another prolonged purgatory, where the player loses the will, motivation and commitment to perform but remains at the club as a lame duck.
That would be catastrophic for Spurs, who can ill-afford a repetition of the fiasco we witnessed with Eriksen less than two years ago.