Harry Kane transfer to PSG makes perfect sense – he can make Messi and Mbappe even better
AFTER Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain were eliminated from the Champions League this week, one transfer makes perfect sense to me — Harry Kane to PSG.
It is clear that Harry wants a move from Spurs and, with just one year left on his contract, this summer will be the last chance for his club to bring in a substantial transfer fee.
The England captain could have done no more than he has in his attempts to win a trophy for the North London side.
He is the club’s all-time record goalscorer and he has been hugely influential but, yet again, the team has gone another season without coming anywhere near winning a trophy.
I was flicking between Tottenham’s hugely disappointing goalless draw with AC Milan and PSG’s 2-0 Last-16 second-leg defeat at Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.
And the French champions, for all their attacking talent, really do seem to lack a proper centre-forward.
Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi are possibly the best two players on the planet — but they are always looking to go out wide, likewise Neymar when he is fit.
They would really benefit from a world-class player to go through the middle and Kane would be outstanding for them.
Kane wants medals and he would win bagfuls of them in French domestic football with PSG. You could call them “easy medals” but if anyone deserves them, then Harry does.
He would score 30 or 40 goals a season there and he could be the man who finally makes the difference in that club winning a Champions League.
I don’t see Spurs winning trophies any time soon.
As a club, they need a major rebuild, which will take two or three seasons at least.
Spurs fans won’t want to hear it but they need to follow Arsenal’s example — to build a new, young, fresh team under a hungry young manager. That means things might get worse before they get better.
And Kane, who turns 30 this summer, hasn’t got time for that.
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The spine of this Spurs team is unconvincing.
When fit, Hugo Lloris is still the No 1 keeper and we know he is going to chuck a few goals in every season.
Likewise, Eric Dier in central defence — he makes too many costly errors.
In midfield, against AC Milan, they had Oliver Skipp and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
Those two are not going to win you major trophies.
Hojbjerg is a combative player but he came from Southampton, he is not a player who is used to winning every week.
Up front, there’s Son Heung-min, who enjoyed such a richly productive partnership with Kane for so long but whose form has slumped completely this season.
Dejan Kulusevski is young and inconsistent. Then there’s Richarlison — who I know well as a team-mate when we were at Watford.
I like Richarlison but I didn’t want to hear him moaning about a lack of game-time after the Milan match.
He hasn’t scored in the Premier League all season. He needs to keep quiet, knuckle down and get some work done.
SPURS NO COMPARISON TO ARSENAL
When I look at the spine of Tottenham’s team with that of Arsenal, well, there really is no comparison.
Aaron Ramsdale is so solid, so too the centre-backs William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.
Thomas Partey is probably the best defensive midfielder in the league, Martin Odegaard has been outstanding and — when he is fit — I really like Gabriel Jesus up front as well.
I never got the feeling that Spurs were going to score against Milan. I’m sure Harry himself will admit that he didn’t have a great game. There was a header in injury-time, which forced a good save, but that was it.
There was so little service. His England team-mate Harry Maguire has now been linked with a move to PSG — and I think they should go for Kane as well.
Paris is not far from his family base in London and, while we always assume that if he left Spurs he would stay in England, I think he would benefit from a totally fresh start.
Manchester United feels like the most obvious move for Kane this summer and Erik ten Hag is clearly after a centre-forward.
But Spurs chairman Daniel Levy would still be reluctant to do business with a domestic rival.
If PSG came in, he might be more tempted to cash in.
Kane is an excellent pro, he will never allow his head to go down, he will never become petulant.
It’s obvious, though, that he is getting frustrated. Every time you see him dropping deep into midfield to try and influence play, you know that the team is not functioning properly.
Spurs do have the best stadium in the country — but they don’t have a team to match. Nowhere near.
It looks almost certain that Antonio Conte will leave soon — and they have to make sure they get the next managerial appointment right.
I’m not sure whether going back for Mauricio Pochettino would be the right move, I’d go for a younger coach on the way up and then show some patience.
Whoever they appoint, it feels the time is right for Kane to go.
If he leaves, he will go with a heavy heart, he’s “one of their own” at Spurs and that means a lot to him.
But a player with Harry’s quality and dedication deserves to win things — and I reckon Paris could be the perfect place.