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Harry Kane isn’t the sort of person to show it, but there will likely be a tinge of regret somewhere in his mind when Tottenham Hotspur’s team bus pulls up at Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
The England captain attempted to push through a move to Manchester City last summer after informing Spurs of his desire to leave, subsequently declining to report for preseason training when originally scheduled as a deal remained in the balance. Mindful of the £100 million City had already paid Aston Villa to sign midfielder Jack Grealish, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy wanted to get £150m for Kane’s services, given his greater experience and proven longevity as one of the Premier League’s finest scorers.
As fortune would have it, Spurs hosted City on the opening weekend of the season. Then-Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo left Kane out altogether, and his team earned a surprise 1-0 victory that left City cursing their lack of a centre-forward and Spurs fans taunting their own talisman with chants of “Are you watching Harry Kane?”
Fast forward to mid-February 2022 and only the City fans can be gleeful. Pep Guardiola’s side have defied the lack of a recognised No. 9 to surge nine points clear at the top of the Premier League and reaffirmed their potency on Tuesday when thrashing Sporting CP 5-0 in their own stadium to all but seal a spot in the Champions League quarterfinals. Spurs, meanwhile, were knocked out at the group stage of Europe’s third-tier competition, the inaugural Europa Conference League, and have lost their last three Premier League matches to drop to eighth place, barely in the sort of form to maximise their games-in-hand and clamber back into the race for a top-four spot.
There are 27 points separating City and Spurs. Kane originally wanted to bridge this gap by moving clubs and a heavy defeat this weekend will only underline the gulf in class. So with City buoyant, Spurs in flux and Kane turning 29 in July, what happens next?
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Source : espn
