Kane emotional, fans livid as Spurs sink to Villa defeat

LONDON • Harry Kane might have played his last home game with boyhood club Tottenham after appearing to wave goodbye to the Spurs faithful at the full-time whistle on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, the England captain reportedly requested to leave the club at the end of the season, signalling his frustration with the lack of silverware - Spurs' trophy drought stands at 13 years - and sparking a host of transfer rumours.

Despite having nothing to play for, visiting Aston Villa, who cannot finish any higher than 11th place, were the better side, while the hosts were wretched as they slumped to a 2-1 Premier League defeat.

There were 10,000 fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time since December as crowds return to stadiums on a limited basis after the United Kingdom eased coronavirus restrictions this week.

Those supporters quickly urged their star striker to stay as they chanted "Harry Kane, he's one of our own" before kick-off.

Steven Bergwijn made the supporters cheer after netting the opener for his first goal of the season.

But the positive atmosphere soon gave way to loud boos as Sergio Reguilon first scored a comical own goal before Ollie Watkins grabbed the deserved winner.

Spurs are now in danger of missing out on Europe altogether. As things stand, Ryan Mason's side are in seventh place, meaning they will only play in the new Uefa Conference League, the governing body's third-ranked European competition, next term with only one spot available to English sides.

However, eighth-placed Everton are level on 59 points while Arsenal are a further point behind, and Spurs need to travel to fifth-placed Leicester on Sunday.

There was anger after the game as supporters hit out at the ticket price and shoddy display, chanting "£60 you are having a laugh" and "we want (chairman Daniel) Levy out", while also taking umbrage at the team's apparent reluctance to do the customary end-of-season lap of appreciation.

Kane looked to be fighting back tears as he cut an isolated figure, slowly walking around the pitch on his own to acknowledge the fans before going down the tunnel.

And in an interview with Gary Neville's Overlap YouTube channel, the England captain yesterday dropped the strongest hint yet that he wants to leave the club.

"It's a moment in my career where I have to reflect and see where I'm at, and have a good, honest conversation with the chairman," he said. "Ultimately, it's going to be down to me, what's going to be the best for my career."

Asked whether he was at a crossroads, Kane added: "I think so. I think it's definitely a conversation to be had with the club... I want to be playing in the biggest games. The biggest moments."

Defeat at Leicester could even see them finish as low as ninth and with Spurs no closer to appointing a new boss, it seems like they are headed for a summer of turmoil.

Caretaker manager Mason, who took over from the sacked Jose Mourinho last month, summed up the mood, saying: "I'm very disappointed. There are so many emotions in football. Yes, a lot has been going on but our aim is to get results on the pitch and unfortunately, we didn't do that."

REUTERS