Steven Gerrard urges Harry Kane to stay & fight for titles with Tottenham
By Tom Gott
Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard has urged Harry Kane to stay true to his roots and remain with Tottenham.
Kane wanted to join Manchester City last summer and remains on the radars of both City and Manchester United ahead of the upcoming transfer window following another season without silverware.
It's a dilemma Gerrard can relate to. The legendary midfielder had an illustrious career with Liverpool but failed to get his hands on the Premier League trophy, which he would have done had he taken Chelsea up on their offer to sign him in 2005.
“I admire his loyalty to Tottenham and, of course, I’m sure it’s been tempting for him on many occasions to go and take one of those options,” Gerrard said of Kane's future ahead of Saturday's meeting between Villa and Spurs.
“The Spurs fans should enjoy him and admire the loyalty he’s given them. You can see a guy who is desperate for success with Tottenham and I have a lot of admiration for that.
“He might still have the opportunity to achieve a couple of things in his career which might mean more to him with Tottenham than anyone else because of what Tottenham have also given the player.
“That’s what it boiled down to with me. The decision was, yes I could go to three or four teams in a foreign country or a couple domestically who maybe have a better chance of winning.
“But winning something with your team, the one you love and the supporters you love, I think that will mean more to him for the rest of his life than a short-term fix.”
Gerrard also admitted that he wished he could have prolonged his England career to play alongside Kane, who is on the cusp of becoming the Three Lions' record goalscorer.
More: Harry Kane wades in on Steven Gerrard & Frank Lampard debate
“I wish I had the opportunity to play with him, you always want to play with top players,” the Villa boss continued.
“The way he plays would have helped my game to the next level and I’ve got enough confidence and belief in the way I played I might have been able to help him. I played with world class players with England and unfortunately I never got the chance to play with him.
“He’s the perfect captain for England right now, a world class player and with the way he carries himself on and off the pitch.”