Tottenham and England star Harry Kane has signed a groundbreaking Skechers deal, to become the face of the brand's very first elite football boots.
The American company have never manufactured high-end footballing footwear before but are poised to bring out their first top-level boots, as per FootyHeadlines. Kane has been spotted donning mystery blackout boots in recent weeks and is now poised to become the biggest ambassador of the boots with a lifetime deal.
The leak is just the latest example of a high-profile athlete leaving Nike, who have seen many of their biggest stars defect in recent years after failing to extend boot deals.
Kane was previously one of the Swoosh's biggest stars – receiving custom boots after breaking the all-time goalscoring record for England – but didn't feature in the most recent 2022 World Cup advert, where he was omitted in favour of the likes of fellow English stars Phil Foden and Leah Williamson.
Nike have seemingly pivoted away from holding quite so many huge stars in the men's game, losing Raheem Sterling, Bukayo Saka, Thiago Alcantara, Reece James, Sergio Ramos, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robert Lewandowski and most notably, Puma-bound Neymar, in the last few years.
VIDEO: Why Harry Kane should stay at Tottenham Hotspur this summer
Nike has also lost US Olympians Simone Biles and Allyson Felix in recent years, too – but the brand has made strides in women's football by recruiting the likes of Sam Kerr and Alexia Putellas. Notably, Nike signed Erling Haaland in March, meaning that both the Manchester City frontman and Kylian Mbappe are on the company's books.
With Kane now set to become the face of Skechers, however, it's likely that the brand are about to take on the UK market. According to FootyHeadlines, the "Mystery Pro Player Test Boot Skechers soccer cleats" were available in both low-cut and high-cut styles for a price of £220, limited to just 50 pairs. These sold out immediately.
Kane is said to be on the brink of a move to Bayern Munich, with The Athletic's David Ornstein revealing today that another bid has been rejected by Spurs for their talismanic striker.
Skechers last released football boots in 2017, with this new pair set to become the brand's first-ever high-end boots for elite players.
More Tottenham Hotspur stories
In FourFourTwo's Season Preview, we look at why Tottenham fans can be excited again for the future.
Alan Shearer has joked that he'll "drive Kane's f****** car there [Bayern Munich] myself" in order to protect his Premier League goalscoring record. Meanwhile, former striker Teddy Sheringham reckons that, "No Tottenham fan would begrudge him the opportunity to win trophies with another club".
Tottenham transfer news is also ramping up, with Ange Postecoglou now confirmed as manager. Roger Ibanez has been linked, as has Liverpool no.2 Caoimhin Kelleher and long-time target Paolo Dybala.
