Harry Kane has refused to rule out a return to the Premier League, and when he was asked straight out whether that could mean Tottenham, the England captain shook his head and said: “Who knows, I can’t tell you. Time will tell.”
Kane was speaking to talkSPORT Drive on Wednesday, the day before he wins his 126th England cap against Croatia and breaks Peter Shilton’s appearance record. He has just signed a new Bayern Munich contract that runs until the summer of 2029, and he said he has no plans to cut it short.
But he also made it clear that the Bayern deal does not have to be the last of his career, and for Spurs fans that keeps the door open a crack.
What did Harry Kane say about a Premier League return?
Harry Kane admitted he hasn’t made his mind up. “I’ll be honest, I am really not sure,” he said. “When I think back coming back, it isn’t just about the record (top goalscorer in the Premier League), there are things I haven’t achieved yet.”
He then explained why it is no longer a simple call. “But since I’ve been away, it has really opened my eyes that there is a big old world out there, and I think people are appreciating my game more. So, I think it would have to be a perfect situation for me to ever come back, and I can’t see where that would be.”
Pressed on whether that meant it was still possible, he replied: “One day, anything is possible.”
Could Kane come back to Tottenham?
The last question of the interview was the one Spurs fans wanted asked: would it be Tottenham or another Premier League club? Kane shook his head. “All the tough questions at the end before I go,” he said. “Who knows, I can’t tell you. Time will tell.”
That matters more than it sounds, because Spurs still hold the cards if it ever happens. As we reported last week, Tottenham’s first-option matching rights survived Kane’s new Bayern deal, so if Bayern ever accept a bid for him, Spurs can match it.
Kane on Pochettino: “He took the club to the highest place it has almost ever been”
Kane was also asked about Mauricio Pochettino, with Manchester United having reached an agreement in principle with the USA head coach while Michael Carrick’s future is decided. Kane scored 169 goals in 242 games under Pochettino at Spurs, and he did not hold back.
“I can’t speak highly enough of him. At a stage in my career, he was massive to my development,” Kane said. “He took a team that was extremely young and not seen as one of the top teams, to us having back-to-back title races, getting to a Champions League final. He took the club to the highest place it has almost ever been.”
He added that Pochettino helped him off the pitch as well as on it: “It was my first time playing regularly at the highest level, all the demands and pressure that comes with that, he was a big help in dealing with that.”
Kane’s verdict on the striker Spurs sold
Speaking at Tottenham’s training ground on Wednesday, Kane was also asked about Will Lankshear, the 21-year-old who left Spurs for Middlesbrough in the summer and has 15 goals in 16 games this season. Lankshear was in the running for a first senior call-up but missed out, then pulled out of the Under-21s with a muscular injury.
“I’ve spoken to a friend of mine who coached him here (Tottenham) at the younger age group and said that he’s a goal scorer. He knows how to score. He’s in the right place at the right time. He’s a great finisher,” Kane said. He added that it was “not a time to put too much pressure on him”, and that Lankshear should be left to keep playing and scoring.
It’s a pointed compliment for Spurs, given how Lankshear’s goals compare since Tottenham sold him, at a time when De Zerbi’s side are short of goals from their own centre-forwards.
Verdict: Don’t book the homecoming yet
Kane wants to play at the 2030 World Cup, when he will be nearly 36, and he is under contract in Munich until 2029. Put those two things together and any Tottenham return is a long way off, if it happens at all, and he has said himself it would need “a perfect situation”.
Still, “time will tell” is not a no. With the first-option clause intact and Kane openly saying there are things he hasn’t achieved in England, Spurs have every reason to keep the line open.
