Farewell then Harry Kane, our one-season wonder who just didn’t stop scoring

Not long after the end of last Sunday’s home friendly against Shakhtar Donetsk, Harry Kane emerged from the tunnel alone and walked to all four corners of the ground to applaud the crowd. He was received as he always is. A club legend. One of our own. If this was the end, it was a near-perfect send‑off. Kane had scored four goals in the 5-1 victory. Of course he had. Who else was going to score them? Last season the rest of the team could barely identify the opposition net, let alone find it.

I wasn’t there to say goodbye. Pre-season friendlies aren’t my bag and I was away on holiday. But then I’d already made my farewells. In our hearts, every fan knew this moment was coming. Kane had only one year left on his contract and was in no hurry to renew. So this was the last chance for Daniel Levy to cash in on his prize £100m asset. In a year’s time, Kane would be able to walk on a free and there was almost no chance Tottenham’s chairman would let that happen. Though if there’s anyone who can screw up a transfer that most people think is a done deal, it’s Levy. He must have driven executives at Bayern Munich mad over the past few weeks as he hung on for an extra few million. There’s a wonderful Hitler Downfall parody doing the rounds of Spurs fans on social media.

There’s sadness in seeing him go, but no surprise. He is 30 and probably has three or four years left at his peak. During his lifelong career at Spurs – apart from a few loan spells – he has won precisely nothing. Tottenham have won one League Cup this century. We like to think we are a big club – we now have the stadium of a big club – but we are run by a board with a not‑so‑big-club mentality.

A player such as Kane deserves to end his career with a few winners’ medals and playing Champions League football. Spurs haven’t even qualified for the Europa Conference League this season. And Bayern are about as nailed on to win trophies as it gets. They’ve won the Bundesliga 11 times in a row since 2013. Not to mention a few knockout cups in the same time. Harry might as well start expanding his trophy cabinet. Now he’ll have something to put in it apart from a few Golden Boots. Nor will I feel any bitterness at Kane’s departure. It sticks in the throat that we’re not good enough for him, but he’s given his best years to the club. His goals have given us a taste for Champions League football, something we are almost certainly going to have to get used to living without.

And he has behaved impeccably throughout. More or less. There was one wobble when he had a half-hearted flirtation with Pep Guardiola in 2021 and didn’t turn up for training. But we can forgive him that. More important, he hasn’t sulked and stopped trying – I’ll never forgive Luka Modric for his performances in his last year at Spurs when he was desperate for a transfer to Real Madrid – and he has done the decent thing.

He hasn’t left for another English club. Not to Manchester City. Or worse still to Arsenal or Chelsea. He’s gone to Bayern. Every Spurs fan should be able to live with that.

‘You could feel the excitement in the ground when he sat deep and raked a long pass that dissected the defence through to Son Heung-min.’ Photograph: James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images

I first saw Kane score in a League Cup tie against Hull in 2013 that Spurs won on penalties. It was a fairly dismal game and I had no idea I was in near the start of a club legend, a player who would become our record goalscorer. I was probably still too busy mourning the loss of Gareth Bale.

But Harry just went on and on scoring goals. At first I thought it was one of those lucky runs players sometimes go on. A golden streak. Opposition fans started singing: “He’s just a one-season wonder,” to try to put him off. But he kept on scoring, seemingly at will, against top as well as mid-table teams.

Before long the home fans had started to sing: “He’s just a one‑season wonder,” too. The irony was irresistible. Because he clearly wasn’t. He was a natural. Someone who could score with either foot and his head. And not only a goalscorer but a goal provider. You could feel the excitement in the ground when he sat deep and raked a long pass that bisected the defence through to Son Heung-min.

skip past newsletter promotion

Sign up to Football Daily

Kick off your evenings with the Guardian’s take on the world of football

Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

after newsletter promotion

He was the complete player, a total professional. Even when we were playing horrible football last season he still managed 30 league goals. Without him, we might have been in a relegation battle.

But we are where we are. The truth is Kane had outgrown Spurs several seasons ago. Only Harry’s sense of loyalty and the undivided affection of the fans kept him at the club. That and the misplaced optimism that this – just might – be the season we actually win something. A Carabao Cup maybe. Be still my beating heart.

Where Spurs will be without Kane, I dread to think. A savvier club would have planned for his departure, would have got the deal with Bayern done months ago and recruited a replacement. Though what kind of 30‑goals‑a‑season striker would want to come to a club that almost certainly won’t win anything? But Spurs being Spurs, we can only hope Richarlison rediscovers what his boots are for. And that the players are reminded the stadium is for football glory, not just NFL and Beyoncé concerts.

I’m not sure I’ll see Kane’s like again. Players such as him come around all too rarely and I’m getting long in the tooth. Too old to believe in the “it’s a season to rebuild” nonsense fans like to drone on about. Every season at Spurs seems to be a rebuilding season. Hell, if you can’t build a winning team around Kane, who can you build one around? So it’s adieu, Harry. I wish you nothing but the best. You’ve given me far more than I could have ever hoped. And at least I will have a team to support in this year’s Champions League. Come On You Bayern.