Tottenham need trophies to keep Kane & Pochettino from Real Madrid & Man Utd - Kanoute

Tottenham will find it “difficult” to keep Harry Kane and Mauricio Pochettino from the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United unless they start to land trophies, Frederic Kanoute has told Goal.

Impressive progress has been made in north London over recent years, with Spurs having forced their way into Premier League title contention while becoming regulars in the Champions League.

Tangible success has remained elusive, though, with a wait for major silverware having now passed the 10-year mark.

Many have suggested that honours will be required in order to prevent key men from leaving, despite a number of star turns and a highly-rated coach having committed to new contracts.

Former Spurs striker Kanoute told Goal, courtesy of Enterprise-Rent-A-Car, when asked if prolific England international Kane will look for a move at some stage: “He’s obviously one of the best strikers in Europe right now.

“He might want to go and have a new experience to take his career to another level. At the same time, if he can win something fairly soon with Tottenham then I think they have the chance to keep him. But it’s going to be difficult.

“They have done so in the last couple of years, keeping hold of their players, we know they haven’t transferred new players and they haven’t bought any players at all this season. They keep maintaining a very high standard so that’s good. In modern football that is very rare.”

Kanoute added on the need to match the ambition of key men such as Pochettino, with the Argentine having generated plenty of talk regarding future roles at Old Trafford or the Santiago Bernabeu: “I know this is a big debate in England and I also think that they need some silverware, they need something to make sure they go past that level where they are just good but don’t win anything.

“I think they really need to make it happen, win something and they will be able to write the next part of their history by keeping Pochettino and carrying on developing the club. It might be difficult to keep the coach in the coming years, especially if they don’t win anything.”

Enterprise

Spurs still have the chance to bring their barren run on the trophy front to a close this season.

They hold a 3-0 lead over Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League last-16 showdown, while there is just a five-point gap between the north London outfit and Premier League leaders Manchester City – with Pochettino’s side having a game in hand.

Asked if Tottenham could upset the odds and taste title glory in 2019, Kanoute said: “I think a lot of people are writing Spurs off because unfortunately in the last few years they couldn’t maintain the level that they have started the league with. It’s been a bit difficult for them to maintain that level and be very competitive at the end of the league to make it.

“Nonetheless, I think they still have a chance but it’s going to be very, very tough against Liverpool and Manchester City – who are just kind of cruising a little bit more than any other team in England.”

Spurs are back in action against Burnley on Saturday, before then taking in back-to-back derby dates with old adversaries Chelsea and north London rivals Arsenal.

Frédéric Kanouté is working with UEFA Europa League partner Enterprise Rent-A-Car on their Legendary Journeys campaign. To discover more and to enjoy special rates on car hire across Europe, visit www.enterprise.co.uk/UEL