Harry Kane conceded over the international break that questions surrounding his future were "hard to answer right now". 

The England skipper's quotes seemed to send alarm bells ringing across north London and have pricked up the ears of some of Tottenham's rivals. 

Earlier this week, it was reported in Spain that Kane is viewed by Barcelona as a possible alternative to Erling Haaland. 

Then there were the inevitable links to Manchester City following confirmation that Sergio Aguero will leave at the end of the season. 

Could Kane stay at Spurs? 

What's perhaps been lost in all this is the question of whether Kane really wants to move on from his boyhood club.

The striker is currently on 215 Spurs goals (correct ahead of kick-off against Newcastle on Sunday). That puts him within distance of Jimmy Greaves' club record (266), having already surpassed Double-winning forward Bobby Smith. 

What are pundits saying? 

In the ITV studio, Ashley Cole made the point that Kane might consider ditching those personal accolades in order to win big trophies. 

Spurs' silverware drought stretches back to 2008 and their vice-captain is now 27 and without a major honour to his name, having lost League Cup and Champions League finals. 

However, ex-England defender Danny Mills has told Football Insider that there is another factor to take into account and that's the future of Heung-min Son. 

What's happening with Son's future? 

The same source reports that Bayern Munich are considering signing the South Korean. 

When asked whether Son's potential departure could affect Kane, Mills replied: 

“Definitely. Harry Kane wants to win things. People go on about legacy and it might be split between scoring goals, having big contracts but given the chance, he’d want to win things.

“He’d want to win things at Spurs and score goals in a winning team.

“If you start to lose some of your best players that often provide the best chances for you, you’re going to start looking at and think ‘Hang on a minute, this maybe doesn’t work for me and as much as I love the football club, if players are leaving and we’re not bringing in players of equal quality or better then I’m going to suffer and if I suffer my family suffer and everything. Eventually, I need to be out of here.’

“Players are always asking ‘Who are we signing? Who are we bringing in?’ Because ultimately it makes them better.”

Kane and Son have already linked up for 14 league goals this season, which is a Premier League record. 

Verdict 

Not only do Son and Kane combine telepathically, this is ultimately about intent. When Kane signed his most recent Spurs deal in 2018, he'll have been hoping he was committing to an ambitious project. 

Instead, the Lilywhites have declined since then and they've gone from title challengers back to a Europa League outfit. 

The departure of Son, if it happens, would be devastating and suggest that Spurs can no longer convince their top men to stay. Whether Kane's loyalties are tested by that remains to be seen.