Harry Kane urged to target trophies with Tottenham and forget overseas move

Harry Kane can have a “fantastic life” playing for Tottenham and should seriously consider the cultural difficulties of moving abroad, according to Spurs great Martin Chivers.

Prolific striker Kane has hit 129 Spurs goals during the past four seasons, prompting speculation linking him with Europe’s top clubs, including Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Former forward Chivers, whose 174 Tottenham goals make him the club’s third highest scorer, knows all about the challenges of playing in a foreign country having left White Hart Lane in 1976 for a two-year spell with Swiss club Servette.

And the 72-year-old has advised Spurs’ current star frontman – named Premier League player of the year at Thursday’s London Football Awards – to stick with Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

“They can speculate about him getting more money going abroad, but if I was a mentor for Harry I would say, ‘Think about going abroad, it’s not as easy as everybody thinks’,” said Chivers, speaking at the awards ceremony, which is in aid of the national charity Willow.

“I managed it because I could speak a language but this is a big problem.

“You’ve got to live when you go abroad, you’ve got to learn the language, you’ve got to mix in with the people and some people can do it, and some people can’t.

“I hope Harry thinks, ‘Maybe I’ll take a little bit less (money) than I could be getting abroad and take it with Tottenham and have a fantastic life’.

“And he will have a fantastic life.”

Chivers, whose Tottenham haul came in 367 appearances between 1968 and 1976, sits behind Jimmy Greaves (266 goals) and Bobby Smith (208) in Spurs’ list of greatest scorers.

Despite being just 24, Kane – the Premier League’s Golden Boot winner for the past two years – is already closing in, having struck 134 times in 201 outings.

Chivers feels the England international is playing close to his peak after improving significantly during the last few years.

“He doesn’t have to go much further, does he?,” added Chivers. “If he just continues what he’s doing, it will be wonderful for Tottenham fans.

“He’s electric at the moment, he’s got stronger, built himself up – that was something I was waiting for him to do because he was getting knocked off the ball a little bit a couple of years ago.

“He can give anybody a game.”

Chivers won the UEFA Cup and two League Cups during his time in north London.

While the current Spurs team have received plenty of plaudits since manager Pochettino took over in 2014, they are yet to lift a trophy.

They secured a 2-2 draw at Juventus in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie and face Swansea in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Chivers believes the club must end their 10-year wait for silverware for this season to be regarded as a success.

“Win something for the fans. The fans are desperate for something,” he said.

“Just for instance, if we don’t go any further in the Champions League, we’ve got a wonderful chance with the FA Cup. It’s nice to be in the competitions but who knows what can happen?

“That result we did over in Turin was just exceptional. It surprised me, I couldn’t believe it.

“I had all the texts coming through after nine minutes (when Spurs trailed 2-0), all my friends were saying, ‘What the hell’s going on?’.

“And then they came back and played some great football.”