A curious tale this, one which perhaps serves to reflect just what lottery it can be playing for a top-flight side’s academy can be. Harry Kane is a figure that I have long maintained to be an individual that succeeded at Spurs – despite Spurs. For all those that have subsequently come out of the woodwork claiming this, that and the other, there are few to no voices prepared to acknowledge that for some good while that Harry simply wasn’t good enough, and it was only when he took his own career in hand, that did meaningful improvement happen.
It’s now emerged from German outlet Bild [€] that Harry Kane was offered a loan deal at Union Berlin, back in 2012. Nico Schafer was Union’s head of football at that time and recalls the now England captain being on the now Bundesliga side’s then radar.
Kane declined the chance and instead continued with his loan drudgery, which at the time included a brief spell at Norwich City, then Leicester City, before returning to Spurs after 13 appearances and 2 goals for the Foxes.