Spurs boss Antonio Conte has issued a warning to the club's management over Harry Kane's stay at the North London team, claiming the talismanic striker could leave the outfit before the start of the 2022-23 season if he fails to convince him to remain in the next three months.
After a slow start to Tottenham's current campaign, Kane has been gaining confidence and his groove of late. Last weekend, the 28-year-old footballer delivered a stunning performance, upsetting table toppers Man City in the Premier League.
Conte, who was appointed Tottenham head coach after Kane's move to City was scuttled last summer, knows how important Kane is to the side, jokingly saying that the England international will have to appear in games even if he was on "one leg".
But even the Italian manager realises that convincing Kane to remain with Spurs will not be easy, considering he's in the hunt for silverware.
According to Conte, the only way to stop Kane from jumping ship is to somehow convince him that he can win titles with his team.
"Harry is a player with great ambition and it must be this way because we are talking about a world-class striker", Conte said ahead of his side's game against Burnley on Wednesday. "Records are important but, at the same time, it's also important to lift trophies. Only when you win and lift trophies can you go into the story of the club".
While there has been a marked improvement in Tottenham's play since Conte's appointment in November, the North Londoners are still languishing in eighth place in the Premier League charts, leaving them out of contention in the race for the title there.
Besides, a top-4 finish in the tournament - a must for Champions League qualification is looking like a distant dream.
Kane had set out these twin goals for himself at the start of the current campaign, with Europe's premier club tournament being his major focus.
If Spurs fail to achieve both, he could be on his way to a different team at the end of this season as it is when players take important decisions about their future.
"But I understand then that every player has to make the best decision at the end of the season", Conte concluded.