Harry Kane is currently playing at a form so elite that he’s truly in very rarified among strikers. Although he’s currently at his dream club, and shows zero interest in leaving, it’s only a matter of time until the La Liga duopoly come calling. We’ve seen in it before with Tottenham Hotspur star players- Luka Modric and Gareth Bale left White Hart Lane for Real Madrid.
Barcelona took Luis Suarez from Liverpool a couple years ago and Philippe Coutinho just yesterday for £142 million (the world’s third most expensive transfer ever). With Liverpool and Barcelona announcing the deal just yesterday, the topic came up during Mauricio Pochettino’s post FA Cup news conference.
Pochettino admits that Spurs wouldn’t be able to stop Kane from leaving, just like Anfield couldn’t hold on to Coutinho.
“I think it is a massive example or massive point to show how this business is, how difficult it is for the clubs to keep their best players,” Pochettino remarked on the Coutinho deal after his side beat AFC Wimbledon 3-0 in the FA Cup third round.
“Liverpool is one of the best clubs in the world and look when Coutinho wants to leave how difficult it is to keep your best player.
“Liverpool wanted to keep but it was difficult to keep him, and look what happened with Cristiano Ronaldo and Man United and [Zinedine] Zidane at Juventus, [Luis] Figo in Barcelona.
“It is a lot of examples that it is so, so tough to keep your best player if the player says he wants to leave.”
Harry Kane has consistently been linked to Manchester United over the years, although not as much in recent transfer windows. Kane to Old Trafford is also very unlikely as it is quite far-fetched to believe that the highest scoring individual player for a single calendar year would go to a league rival.
Pochettino then went on to accentuate the importance of relationship building.
“That is why it is so important how you care for your players,” Pochettino continued.
“It is why you need to anticipate things. It is so important to work with the human side and then to provide the player the club and the team an exciting moment and try and build a project that they feel comfortable with and they are happy to be with you.”
“Look, that is a good point to assess and talk. Today when a player decides to leave, look what happens.”
“If another club pays the type of money they pay, like Barcelona with Liverpool, how do you stop it? I hear what clubs say. It is so difficult, our job.”
Harry Kane is just one example, but the lesson put forth here by Pochettino could be applied to star footballers all across the world. Everything he said provides a ton of food for thought.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV and the Tribune company’s blogging community Chicago Now.
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