Harry Kane comments a wake-up call for Tottenham but transfer fee all-but rules out move for the foreseeable future

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Harry Kane has always been open about his desire to win club trophies but the timing of his latest comments should prompt unease at Tottenham.

In an Instagram video, Kane suggested he would consider his future at Spurs if the club is no longer "progressing...and going in the right direction" .

The England captain has cut an increasingly frustrated figure as Tottenham's decline has accelerated, even after Mauricio Pochettino was replaced by Jose Mourinho in November. He demanded more maturity from his teammates following the draw at Olympiacos in September and again struggled to hide his frustration after a 2-1 loss at Liverpool a month later.

While his comments yesterday are nothing new, they come at a time when it is genuinely hard to feel Spurs are still progressing following the remarkable steps forward under Pochettino.

Should the season resume, they will be eighth in the Premier League table, seven points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea, and out of all three cup competitions.

Mourinho's appointment was designed to end Spurs' years as a 'nearly club' and deliver a first trophy since the 2008 League Cup but the Portuguese clearly needs backing to rebuild his creaking squad in the next two to three transfer windows.

It is increasingly clear that Kane is not entirely convinced by Tottenham's ability to rebuild and win silverware, and the club can no longer take his loyalty for granted.

Kane is more than a player to Spurs – he is a figurehead and often a spokesperson for the team – and the timing of his comments will not have impressed the club's hierarchy, coming as they attempt to protect jobs and work to support those affected by Covid-19. He would have done better to avoid the question, and address his future at a more appropriate time

On a practical level, there are few clubs in world football who could afford Kane, who has a contract to 2024, particularly with the post-coronavirus landscape so unclear.

And his value to Tottenham as both a player and a symbol far outweighs his potential value to other clubs. Would, say, Manchester United really be willing to pay the £200-250million demanded by Daniel Levy, when they could sign Borussia Dortmund pair Jadon Sancho and Erling Haaland for similar money? The financials of any transfer ultimately make it unlikely that Kane will go anywhere in the foreseeable future but his comments, while ill-timed, should nonetheless be a wake-up call for Spurs.