Kane: Tottenham team-mates would be ‘silly’ to move to China

Daniel Roberts
Harry Kane: Tottenham project is too good to leave

Harry Kane: Tottenham project is too good to leave

Harry Kane insists no-one at Tottenham would prefer a big-money move to China over achieving success at White Hart Lane.

The Spurs striker hit a hat-trick in Saturday’s 4-0 Premier League win over West Brom in a week when he also celebrated becoming a father for the first time.

Kane opened the scoring early on against the Baggies before a Gareth McAuley own goal put Mauricio Pochettino’s side further ahead before the break.

West Brom were better after the interval but relied on a string of saves from Ben Foster to keep them in the game before Kane struck twice in five minutes to seal a comfortable win and the match ball.

With the Chinese Super League looking to attract some of the world’s biggest stars, Premier League clubs can expect plenty of interest in their own talent.

League leaders Chelsea have already sold Oscar and John Obi Mikel to Super League clubs and their forward Diego Costa has been linked with a similar move.

But, with the recent victory over the Blues proving Tottenham are in good shape to challenge as they did for much of last season before tailing and finishing third, Kane says everyone at the club wants to stay.

“People are going to speculate about that but you can see how good a shape the club is in,” he said when it was put to him that he could earn more money elsewhere despite recently signing an improved deal at White Hart Lane.

“The future is very bright. We’ve got one of the best managers in the world, if not the best. I’m pretty sure he’d stay (if a Chinese Super League club came in for Pochettino), he’s started a project here, we’ve got the stadium coming, so the future is very bright.

“Performances like West Brom and winning games like that, the next step for us is winning trophies, so hopefully we can do that this season and push us onto the world scale.

“I’d be very surprised if any of our players went out there, especially within the next couple of seasons. What we’ve got going on here is something very great and I think it would be silly for the players here whoever maybe come and go not to be part of it.”

Kane believes it is not only Tottenham’s players who would prefer to stay put as opposed to bolster their bank balance with a lucrative move.

“It’s part of football now,” he said when asked about the big money being spent by Chinese clubs.

“There’s a lot of money in the game because of how good the Premier League is and other leagues around Europe. Players are going to choose what they want to choose.

“Either they’re going to go there and earn some good money but a lot of players I think will stay and the ambition is to win the Premier League and win trophies to play in the best league in the world.

“I think that drives more players than most so I don’t think it’s that much of an issue. The Chinese league are trying to do all they can to make their league as good as ours.

“So you can fault them for that, that’s their choice and like I said it’s down to the players and what they want to do. But I definitely think the ambition to win Premier Leagues, especially for the young players, will definitely drive them more.”

The 23-year-old would certainly be sought after if he declared an interest in such a move, with West Brom skipper Darren Fletcher conceding after Saturday’s loss that Kane has plenty to offer.

“He is a fantastic striker and his form has been unbelievable,” he said.

“He is very good at everything; he is quick, he holds it up, he leads the line, he lays it off, he can head it, he can shoot and he can score tap-ins.

“He excels in a lot of areas, you get a lot of strikers who are quick or great finishers – he has a complete package and a great work-rate as well. For any manager, fan and players, I’m sure they appreciate him.

“He has worked on his game and keeps progressing. It is easy to be a flash in the pan for one season but he has shown now and done it over a number of seasons. That is a sign of true quality and he is improving all the time.”