Why Tottenham Should Resist All Offers for Harry Kane This Summer

Harry Kane has just completed a truly remarkable season. 

At some point, his 21 league goals, 10 more in other competitions, England debut and derby-day heroics jumped from exciting to scarcely believable. 

Only 21, Kane now seemingly has the football world at his feet. 

Given that Tottenham failed to qualify for the Champions League despite his brilliance, it is inevitable that clubs will try to pry him away. 

Spurs simply must resist the offers regardless of the value of them. 

Tottenham have shown a willingness to sell their best players in the past. An inexhaustive list includes Dimitar Berbatov, Luka Modric and Gareth Bale. 

Kane is not like the stars that have come before him at Spurs in that he is a local boy. When Kane speaks of love for the club, it is not simply lip-service. The fans believe him and believe in him. No song that echoes around White Hart Lane is sung with more gusto than Kane's anthem. They truly believe that he is "one of our own."

That relationship between the fans and their star has rekindled passion for the club more broadly. The disaffection of the post-Harry Redknapp era was as notable as its absence is now. 

To sell Kane now would be perceived as a great betrayal by the fans. It is one thing to sell a Welsh, Bulgarian or Croatian star that was recruited to the club in much the same way. It is quite another to willingly part with a homegrown hero. 

It would damage the relationship between the club and its fans at a time when they can least afford it. Spurs don't want to be moving to a new stadium with a largely disaffected fanbase. 

Each time the club has accepted a huge bid for their best player, they have slipped further away from their goal. 

That is the other reason why Spurs must resist offers for Kane this summer. 

The club surprised most neutral observers by pipping Liverpool to fifth place this past season. Without Kane's goals, they would have finished significantly further down the table. 

Despite his youth, the first team is already built around him. 

His capacity in both direct attacking positions and in the build-up to attacking chances is central to the way that Spurs play. 

He is the biggest threat in goalscoring positions and one of the most important players in situations where other players are more advanced. 

The intelligence of his runs mean that deeper players are willing to play riskier passes, knowing that he will likely retain possession, while his strength and vision mean that he is equally adept at playing others in. 

It is a virtual certainty that one or possibly two strikers will be a priority in the coming transfer window. 

However there is little chance that Spurs will find a replacement for Kane in their price range.

Even if they were to sell him to Manchester United for the £50 million that has been reported by Scott Loney of Goal.com, they would be unable to replace him. 

The painful example of the Bale bonanza should serve as a warning against that option. 

It was yet another example of a club attempting to replace a champion player with the money earned from selling him. 

Players as well-rounded as Kane do not exist in the £10-15 million range that the club have admitted is their "comfort zone." 

Massimo Pinca/Associated Press

Instead, they will target players that can help get the best out of him. 

A striker with great pace will help to stretch defences and allow Kane to flourish in the playmaking role that was his forte in the youth ranks. 

A forward who possesses a genuine goal threat, unlike Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor, will take the pressure off Kane as Spurs' main scorer. 

Spurs should refuse to sell Kane because he is a 21-year-old who has just enjoyed an astonishing season, has a special relationship with their fans and because they have proven their inability to put significant transfer fees to good use. 

It is highly unlikely that Spurs could be convinced to part with their star man. Even if he were to make it clear that he was set on an exit, the club would refuse to indulge him. 

The fact that he is under contract until 2020 strengthens their position in any potential transfer standoff. 

Neither Dimitar Berbatov nor Luka Modric left the club immediately after requesting to do so. Both played an additional year after publicly admitting their desire to leave. 

Tottenham are virtually certain to hold onto their young star beyond this summer. He has shown no desire to leave and, following a positive season, he has no reason to do so. 

Mauricio Pochettino is building an exciting young team at Spurs with Kane at its heart. 

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

They would be mad to sell him.