Success with Spurs or I leave, says Kane

LONDON • Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane said on Sunday he could leave the Premier League club if the team do not progress as he wants to win trophies "sooner rather than later".

He has scored 181 goals for Spurs in all competitions - averaging 30 goals a season since his breakthrough into the starting line-up in 2014 - but he is yet to win a trophy with the London club.

The England captain signed a six-year contract extension in 2018 but admitted in an Instagram Q&A with Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp he could not guarantee he would stay if Spurs were not successful.

"I'll always love Spurs," said Kane, who is recovering from a hamstring surgery and expected to return next month before the coronavirus pandemic suspended the season until at least April 30.

"But I've always said if I don't feel like we're progressing as a team or going in the right direction, I'm not someone to stay just for the sake of it. I'm an ambitious player, I want to improve and become better. I want to become a top, top player, so it all depends on what happens as a team and how we progress as a team."

The closest he has come to winning a trophy was in the League Cup final in 2015 and the Champions League final last season, with Spurs losing to Chelsea and Liverpool, respectively.

"We've been saying that (Spurs can win trophies with this team) for a couple of years now," he added.

"We have a fantastic team, but for one reason or another, we haven't been able to get those trophies.

"It's a hard thing to take as a player. Of course I want to win trophies, I want to be doing it sooner rather than later."

Spurs, who are out of all cup competitions this season, are eighth in the Premier League standings - seven points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea (48) and the Champions League qualifying spots.

REUTERS