How will Tottenham survive if Harry Kane leaves?

The Englishman is arguably the best striker from his country and one of the world’s finest, which means clubs around the continent will jump at the chance to add him to their squad. 

In the past few seasons, clubs who have won the Champions League and other major trophies have targeted Kane.

As recently as 2021, Manchester City offered $138 million for his signature, but Tottenham turned it down, and City invested that money in Jack Grealish instead.

The likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid have also been linked with a move for the 2018 World Cup Golden Boot winner, but Spurs have always turned down an approach for him.

Their goal has been to win a trophy for some time now, and without Kane in the squad, it is hard to see that happen, so the Lilywhites have decided to keep the Englishman.

However, Kane’s current deal expires at the end of next season, and Spurs know it will be hard to make him sign an extension.

It is embarrassing for a player like him not to have won major trophies, and the former Leicester City loanee is very likely to ask to leave instead of signing an extension to his current deal.

That puts Spurs in a difficult position, and the end of this season is probably the best time for them to offload the Englishman and make some money from his sale.

Reports believe Bayern Munich will make an approach for him as the German side seeks to fill the void left behind by the departure of Robert Lewandowski, who moved to Barcelona.

Kane could be open to the idea if no leading PL side makes an approach for his signature, considering he will almost certainly win the league and other trophies in Bavaria.

If he leaves, it could be for big money, but when Spurs sold Gareth Bale to Real Madrid, they squandered the money from the Welshman’s departure on players who later flopped on their books.

Losing Kane could be an even bigger problem, considering he has been their talisman in their last few seasons and continues to drag them to win some tough matches.

However, players come and go, and clubs must prepare to lose any star man. If Kane does leave, how will Tottenham survive without a player they have relied on for so long?

     Buy a new frontman

One obvious step they will take if the striker does leave them is to get a new man to fill the void left at the Tottenham Stadium so that fans can continue to buy Tottenham tickets.

As obvious as this is, it is probably the hardest option they have because Kane is arguably irreplaceable now.

No club will lose their key goal-scorer to Spurs for any price and the Lilywhites have not been a club that can splash up to 100m euros on a single player.

Instead, they are used to selling their star men for such an amount, which makes it tricky for them to replace Kane.

The boy was groomed from their academy, so they will be making a profit no matter the amount they sell him, but how will they replace him?

If Spurs decides to delve into the transfer market and bring in a quality striker, so many factors will be considered before they can add a new man with good quality to the group.

Firstly, Antonio Conte’s men must be prepared to splash the cash to get any striker that can score even half the goals Kane does for them.

Secondly, they must make the top four because every quality player wants to prove their worth in the Champions League, and they will struggle to compete with the European giants for a talented goal-scorer if they do not make the UCL places.

      Change to a false nine system.

Spurs have used a striker at the top of their system with the past few managers, and one reason for that is that they have an accomplished goal-scorer like Kane.

The Englishman brings too much to the side not to make him the leading man at the club, but if he leaves, the Lilywhites might have to change their system.

Many clubs employ the false nine system, and it works well when you have a player that can do nicely in it.

Roberto Firmino performed that role to perfection at Liverpool, which was one of the reasons the Reds won the Champions League and the Premier League.

Jurgen Klopp did not have to buy an out-and-out striker because the Brazilian did the job to perfection, and it brought the result. 

If Spurs fail to land a frontman that can guarantee them as many goals as Kane does, they will likely have to get someone to play that false nine role well.

However, Antonio Conte has always wanted a striker in his team and Spurs might have to change managers for the system to change.

If the Italian remains at the helm, there is a good chance they must splash the cash on a new world-class frontman because Conte will walk away from the job if he does not get what he wants.

    Rely on Richarlison

Spurs added Richarlison to their squad in the summer as a backup to Kane, with Conte forcing them to add new men to their group.

The Brazilian is technically gifted, but he does not score enough goals unless he is playing for the Brazilian national team.

Richarlison scored just 43 times in 135 league matches for Everton before he moved to London and has netted zero goals in his first 13 league games for the Lilywhites.

One defence the ex-Watford man has is that he does not play enough minutes to score as many goals as he should.

Kane is the main man at Spurs, and Richarlison spends most of his time on the bench, with only a few minutes later in games.

When he comes off the bench, he mostly plays out of position, which is not ideal for a striker.

Perhaps, when Kane leaves, Richarlison will become the club’s main striker, and it will make him score more goals.

However, considering he was the main man at Everton and he still did not score so many goals, banking on Kane leaving is a big gamble.

Spurs have had Kane for most of his career, and the Englishman has earned so many individual honours because of his fine performances on their books.

However, they still haven’t won a team trophy, which is sad because he has been one of the best in his position in the last decade.

Spurs know it would be hard to replace the striker, but his departure might be inevitable if he decides not to sign a new contract at the Tottenham Stadium.

There would be a lot of quality frontmen on the market in the summer, but Spurs must be willing to open the chequebook to buy.

Replacing Kane will be hard, and the best scenario is to keep the striker, but Spurs fans must be prepared for their club to struggle if the Englishman decides to leave at the end of this season.