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Brad Friedel has lifted the lid on a pivotal moment in Tottenham’s recent history, revealing just how close the club came to making a Harry Kane decision that could have changed everything.
The Tottenham Hotspur academy in recent years has struggled to produce a global star capable of bursting onto the scene and becoming a consistent figure for the club.
Harry Kane remains the most recent to have achieved that, delivering elite numbers since his debut for the club, but Spurs will be keen to see that change moving forward.
Tottenham CEO Vinai Venkatesham has since revealed that the club has plans for its academy, with the hope of seeing more breakthrough talent playing for the Spurs first-team squad in the future.
Tottenham nearly sold Harry Kane before breakthrough, Brad Friedel reveals
Of course, the building blocks are there with the likes of Mikey Moore and Luca Williams-Barnett, both top players with huge potential and a chance of becoming first-team regulars.
But while these youngsters bide their time, former Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel has now revealed how close Spurs came to losing their record goalscorer just as he was about to break through.
Speaking about the situation and the role Tim Sherwood played in keeping Harry Kane at the club, Friedel told the story and made it clear how serious the discussions were at the time.
He said: “There was like serious discussion at Tottenham about selling Harry Kane. The person responsible for Harry Kane staying at the football club is Tim Sherwood, that is for sure.
“The big one at Tottenham at the time was Harry Kane and we had Roberto Soldado at the time, a lot of money, and we had Adebayor on a lot of money and they would be left when Tim got the job. There was serious discussion at Tottenham about selling Harry Kane and getting him out.
“But it was Tim Sherwood who made sure that he was there. Now that was Tim Sherwood’s experience also as a player and now a coach, helping, and when Harry came into the first team, there were a lot of us there to help him. When he got his start and he scored his first goal, the rest, as we say, is history.
“He is now leading the world in goals at Bayern Munich, but the person responsible for Harry Kane staying at the football club is Tim Sherwood. That is for sure.”
Kane impact still felt at Spurs amid struggles
Kane spent 11 seasons in north London, and during that time, he proved a crucial player for Tottenham Hotspur.
Not only was his spell littered with goals, but it also came during Spurs’ most successful period in recent years, where they competed with the best, challenging for the Premier League and Champions League.
While the England captain never delivered silverware in north London, there is no denying how important he was to Spurs.
Since Kane’s departure, the club has suffered what has been their worst domestic campaign. They recorded a fifth-place finish in Ange Postecoglou’s first season, the campaign Kane departed, but since then, it has been 17th and now a relegation scrap for Spurs.
No doubt, Tottenham could do with a player of Kane’s quality as they fight for survival this season.
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