As the frustration mounts on all sides regarding the Harry Kane situation at Tottenham Hotspur, a new article in the Telegraph is adding fuel to the fire.
Someone in the Harry Kane camp has been talking to the media and according to the Telegraph, Kane is upset with Levy and Tottenham and wants to leave but is not submitting a request? Maybe someone should let Kane’s team know making the request to a newspaper is not that much different than making it to the club. As Kane and his team continue to burn down the walls of the house he helped build.
Telegraph torching Tottenham
Let’s start by saying this article from The Telegraph is totally legit and clearly from a source within Kane’s camp. This is not an article from some fan journalist like myself, rather Jason Burt – Chief Football Correspondent – for The Telegraph penned this article about Kane himself.
It is almost like this is a letter from Charlie or even Harry himself at times the way the article reads.
Essentially, there are three main points that the Kane camp wants to make sure everyone is aware of:
- Levy promised he could leave if the team underachieved, i.e. did not make Champions League
- The Club, specifically Levy okayed his extra week’s vacation and intentionally let the fans think otherwise
- Manchester City has already bid more than the £100 million reported it was really £125m, but now there are no negotiations
Kane’s arguments are weak at best and only continue to further alienate the fanbase, who are now more fully behind Daniel Levy than likely any point in the last three years.
This sounds complete madness but are we actually at a point where Daniel Levy has more backing from Spurs fans than Harry Kane does?
— Mike N (@MikeGNolan) August 17, 2021
It may not be true but even the idea was unthinkable 6 months ago.
A gentlemen’s agreement is ridiculous
The idea of a gentlemen’s agreement in today’s sports landscape is completely laughable. The fact that there was not a release clause in Kane’s contract is on no one other than Charlie and Harry Kane.
Release clauses are not something only created in the last three years since Kane signed a six-year deal. Most players never go past five years and work to have those release clauses. That he is still under contract for three more years and there is no release is totally on Kane and his team. There are thousands of competent agents he should have used one.
If Tottenham knew, why did Kane not speak?
If this is all about trying to make yourself look better than the club again Kane’s team has failed him. The fact that Kane’s side waited so long to respond to the missing practice news shows how unprepared they were for what was going on.
A simple Instagram post saying I’m on vacation or even a picture from your vacation would have helped show Kane was not on strike. The fact that someone so public so often has gone essentially radio silent shows the lack of handle on the situation. Instead of fixing the situation himself when it first started, Kane’s silence, as it is now, is deafening for the fans.
Further, to think the club – who you have told you want to leave – should ‘cover’ for you with the fans is just naive. This is a business, you tell your boss you are leaving and then ask him to cover when you skip work? Wow, Kane must be rich.
Manchester City can pay or just stop
At this point, whether the bid was £100 million, £125 million, or even £149 million, the value established has been over £150 million. For a club that found £100 million for a player they do not even need in Jack Grealish, the idea they are going to get Kane for anything short of whatever fee Levy deems right is like Kane’s representation, laughable.
Honestly, despite the fact City desperately need a striker and has not been linked with any other strikers, and are not stepping up to the plate is quite insulting to Harry Kane. A club wants the best player at his position on the planet and they want him at a discount, maybe the oil is getting to people’s heads.
Now that we know the meat to Kane’s beef with the situation, we can get to the real heart of the matter, which is Kane and his camp just sent a transfer request via the Telegraph.
Kane Transfer Request Public, not in Writing
One of the first things we need to understand is that as a legal document a transfer request really is nothing. To write on a piece of paper and hand it to the club saying player X wants to go to club Y, does nothing other than publicly state one’s intent.
Ultimately, all a transfer request is, is the public statement of the desire to move to another club. This is why so many have run with the idea that Kane wants to leave his golf course interview to begin within. He was making his desire publicly know.
Frankly, by having his campus go to The Telegraph and make all these statements they are making a public statement of the desire to leave, thus a transfer request. Now is it the same as writing it on paper and handing it to Daniel Levy?
Well, maybe lawyers are going to decide that, Remember the downside of making a formal request is the loss of many bonuses and other monies that may be due.
For the record, The Telegraph wrote that it is not Kane’s intention “to submit a transfer request, even in a late attempt to try and force the move, because it is clear what his position is and what he wants to happen and he has even already said this publically”.
Ultimately, the Telegraph is right, we do all know Kane’s position and he has made it public, which is a transfer request. Now the only thing that needs to happen is the club Kane is so desperate to join needs to step up and pay the fee so Tottenham and everyone that wants to continue to be a part of the club can move on.