Harry Kane’s relationship with Jose Mourinho is a pivotal one. The England international will be 27-years-old next July, and despite a pile of golden boots and numerous other “broken records” to his name, Kane has yet to lift a single piece of meaningful silverware.
Even with Daniel Levy’s turnover of managers at Spurs, it is a distinct possibility that Mourinho’s tenure will be a make or break one, in which Harry decides if he’s happy enough to plod along at Tottenham, or wants to make a name for himself on the world stage.
Asked about this weekend’s game against Chelsea, Kane was quoted in The Sun as saying:
“You know I got on very well with Poch and I respect him very, very, very much. But Mourinho’s got his own style, his own way of doing things. For me, it’s about learning that way. Obviously my top-level career has only been with one manager so for me it’s good to experience new things and see how different managers work.”
It’s Harry Kane’s “top level career” that will start to prey on people’s minds, and this must have been an influencing factor in Levy appointing the Portuguese.
Despite all the noble talk of building that went on under Pochettino, installing another manager with a wafer thin CV and with a mountain to climb, might well have been the last straw for the ambitious Kane.
Had for example, Bournemouth’s Eddie Howe been unveiled as Poch’s successor, then it’s difficult to imagine Kane (or indeed anyone) being enthused at the prospect of yet more time in a rebuilding wilderness.
Make no mistake friends, time is ticking for the one we call “one of our own”.