Neville says Spurs must ‘swallow’ Kane reality as Poch ‘tempts’ striker into ‘scary’ Chelsea reunion

Gary Neville reckons Tottenham must “swallow the fact” Harry Kane may leave for free at the end of the next season, as they can’t afford to lose their talisman this summer.

Kane has just one year remaining on his contract at Spurs and has been heavily linked with a move away from the club, with Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Chelsea all linked with the England captain.

It’s thought Kane’s preference is to stay in the Premier League to score the 53 further goals required in the top flight to break Alan Shearer’s all-time record of 260.

But that desire is at complete odds with that of Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who will do anything to prevent the club talisman joining a Premier League rival.

And Gary Neville says Spurs can’t afford to allow Kane to leave this summer and must “swallow the fact” that he can leave for free in a year’s time.

“When you think about this season for Spurs, and how it’s going to end, I don’t think Tottenham can let Harry Kane go in the summer,” he told Sky Sports on commentary when Liverpool were 3-0 up inside 15 minutes on Sunday.

“They are going to have to let him wind down his contract. They will need to build around him next season with a new manager.

“If he leaves in the summer, and a new manager comes in, will he really want to take the job if he’s a big name without Kane there?

“They may just have to swallow the fact that they’re not going to get a fee for him or try to encourage him to stay during that season.

“The new manager that comes in is going to want to keep the pair of Kane and Son Heung-min together.”

Ian Wright believes Mauricio Pochettino could “tempt” Kane into joining him at Chelsea to thoroughly f*** off Spurs fans and strike fear into the Blues’ Premier League rivals.

“That’s the only thing Tottenham fans wouldn’t be able to deal with, if he went to Chelsea,” Wright told Premier League Productions.

“Can you imagine, if Pochettino went to Chelsea, with the young players he has got and the fact that he is so good with that kind of player? That progressive young player. When you look at the dressing room he has left [at PSG], with respect to dealing with Neymar, [Lionel] Messi and [Kylian] Mbappe.

“The way he can manage that situation, with young players, with Harry Kane and with the players Chelsea have got. That’s scary. That could be scary for someone.

“If he had to sit down with somebody, you probably think Mauricio could tempt him there.

“You are talking about the legacy of Spurs. That’s the thing that would bother him, more than anything. He is loyal. Would he want to go all the way to Manchester?”

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