Teddy Sheringham has stated that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy should give Harry Kane "the freedom to make his own decision" this summer. Kane's future has been a major talking point in recent years and it will increase to new levels ahead of next term as he gets set to enter the final 12 months of his contract.
Contributing with 27 goals and five assists in all competitions for Spurs this season, the 29-year-old will once again finish the campaign with no silverware to his name after the Lilywhites crashed out of the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Champions League despite having opportunities to progress. Tottenham's failure to also secure a top-four finish also leaves Kane with a huge decision to make as he looks to win the trophies he craves before his career comes to an end.
A key summer for Tottenham with Levy needing to appoint a new head coach and managing director of football, the chairman also needs to improve the playing squad and try and keep Kane, who has been linked with Manchester United, in the capital.
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Having served Tottenham so well since breaking into the team and then becoming the club's all-time top goalscorer at the beginning of February, Sheringham feels that Levy should grant Kane's wish if he chooses to exit Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ahead of next season.
"I don’t think Kane’s future has anything to do with poker playing – it’s not about calling Levy’s bluff or anything like that," Sheringham told Lord Ping. "What needs to happen is the two parties have to have a very serious conversation about Kane’s future.
"After the service that he's given Tottenham, Daniel Levy should give him the respect and the freedom to make his own decision. If during that conversation Harry says that he wants to leave in the summer, then Daniel Levy must grant him that wish and get as much money as he can for him.
"This is a situation that needs clarity and needs to be sorted as quickly as possible. I don’t think Daniel can afford to be cagey about this situation – he certainly can’t try to keep him without speaking to him and understand where his head is at because if he doesn’t sign a new contract with the club, then for all of next season this will be lingering over the club and that can only have a negative effect on the rest of the players and the season itself.
"Daniel needs to have the conversation with Harry and get everything out in the open. Harry will have his own questions and he will want to know who is coming in to manage the club, what the budget will be – these conversations happening between a club’s top player and a club chairman are not unusual. "
Amid links with Manchester United as the Red Devils look to bring in a new striker this summer, Sheringham believes Kane has got to ask himself the same questions he did back in 1997 when he left Tottenham to head to Old Trafford.
"Harry Kane is the only person who can say whether or not he wants to move on from Tottenham in the summer," admitted the former England frontman. "I joined United because I felt that Tottenham were not going to allow me to compete for trophies – I didn’t think the club were going to bring in the players that would have enabled us to challenge for the biggest prizes.
"Harry has got to look at the situation at the club and ask himself the same questions that I did. If he doesn’t think that the club are going to be able to bring in players that would see them competing, then I don’t think there’s a single Tottenham fan that would begrudge him the opportunity to win trophies with another club."
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