Tottenham could cash in on Harry Kane with Gareth Bale as part-exchange but is Wales golden boy a good swap for great white hope?
HERE is a question for Tottenham fans: Would you swap Harry Kane for Gareth Bale?
It is an interesting proposition, isn’t it?
And it is one Daniel Levy could feasibly face this summer – especially if Kane continues his electric form in the Bernabeu on Tuesday.
The headlines this week claiming the Spurs striker is attracting interest from Real Madrid were of no great surprise.
After all, which top club in Europe, nay the world, is not interested in the Premier League’s Golden Boot winner for the past two seasons who, having failed to score in August has now netted 15 goals in his last 10 games for club and country.
The phrase made up of the words ‘S**t,’ ‘No’ and ‘Sherlock’ springs to mind.
And you can expect this simmering speculation to be cranked up several notches if Kane has another blinder for Tottenham when they take on the Spanish giants in their incredible stadium in the Champions League on Tuesday.
This clash has had mouths watering since the balls were plucked out of the bag in August.
Back then all the talk centred around Bale - who left Spurs for Spain for then-world record fee of £86million in 2013 – lining up against former club.
But the agenda has moved on somewhat and now most will be tuning in to see whether Kane is genuinely world-class.
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Of course, keen eyes will also be kept on Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and whether Tottenham can compete with the best.
But make no mistake, the main focus, certainly from these shores will be on Kane to see if he can turn it on in the Bernabeu in the same way he does against Bournemouth.
The Chingford-born marksman still has question marks over his ability to perform at the very highest level.
He has answered every question asked of him during his rise in the last three years from Tottenham’s third-choice striker to one of Europe’s best centre-forwards.
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If he replies in style again in Spain on Tuesday then he can duly be considered ‘world-class’ or certainly well on the way to it.
And if he makes mincemeat out of the Madrid defence in the same way he done with the others he has faced in the last five weeks, then it is highly likely Real boss Zinedine Zidane will instruct his paymasters to pull out all the stops to try to sign Kane in the summer.
Now I am not saying Kane wants to leave Tottenham. And nor am I saying Levy is looking to sell.
In fact, with the club scheduled to move into their super-duper 61,000 all-seater stadium next summer, I am reliably informed the Spurs chairman would rather sell his own grandmother than the clean-cut homegrown superstar who is a marketing man’s dream – had he not already sold her, obviously!
But if Kane keeps on performing like he is doing then, for all of Levy and Tottenham’s good intentions, they will inevitably receive an offer too good to dismiss and which will have to be considered.
And, like I said, a couple of goals on Tuesday night and that offer could come sooner than expected from a familiar source.
Levy, still the shrewdest chairman in the Premier League, is no stranger to dealing with Real having negotiated the sales of Bale and Luka Modric and the signing of Rafael van der Vaart.
Any deal for Kane would even larger and more complex than the one for Bale.
With a new £800m stadium to pay for, Levy and Tottenham’s owners and investors would find a bid of £150m or even higher almost impossible to turn down.
It would be the last thing he would want as he realises the necessity to go into the club’s new home next season with all of their big names, including Kane, still in the squad. Levy knows he cannot afford to have the best stadium in the country and Vincent Janssen leading the attack.
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Real Madrid would also need to do a bit of housekeeping to capture Kane.
So do not be surprised if Bale is offered as bait in any potential swoop.
The Welshman appears to be having a tough time of it at the Bernabeu at the moment and the smart money is on him returning to the Premier League.
In an ideal world, Spurs would re-sign their former star to provide the bullets for Kane.
What a billing that would be for their first season in their new ground.
But if they did receive an offer they could not refuse for Kane from Madrid, then getting Bale back – Levy has first refusal - would surely be one way of softening the blow.
Or would it?
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