Tottenham have been warned that Heung-min Son will "start to question his future" if Harry Kane leaves this summer, with Darren Anderton expecting "all the top teams in Europe" to be keeping a close eye on events in north London.
Spurs are bracing themselves for a busy transfer window, as they continue to search for a managerial successor to Jose Mourinho, and are aware that prized assets are in the shop window.
Talismanic striker Kane has seen a push for the exits mooted, as the England captain seeks to land the major silverware that has eluded him so far, and it could be that one departure delivers a domino effect that sees others mull over their options.
What has been said?
Anderton fears that will be the case, with the former Spurs winger - speaking in association with GentingBet - telling Goal: "If Kane was to leave Tottenham then I think Son would start to question his future. All players do.
"If you see a team-mate go on and leave you’re disappointed. Why wouldn’t you be? And, at that point, if you don’t do well the following season then you’re going to ask the questions yourself.
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"Of course, you’re happy for your team-mate if he goes on and wins the Premier League somewhere or the Champions League, but there’ll be a little bit of envy in there that you want that as well.
"You want a piece of that. And if you don’t believe that that’s going to happen at the club you’re at, then you’re going to start thinking about moving on.
"Sonny’s a great guy, isn’t he? He loves Tottenham. I think we can all see that. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about just yet but if the club do not get back on that path of improving and getting back into the Champions League then your top players are going to start to question whether they want to be there."
The bigger picture
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Tottenham have Son tied to a contract through to 2023, but Kane's deal is supposed to extend a year beyond that and big-money transfers could still be put in place.
Anderton believes leading sides from across the continent will be mulling over approaches, especially if the South Korea international forward starts to hint at being available.
The ex-England international added: "All the top teams in Europe are going to be interested in someone like Son.
"I’ve said for the last three or four years that it’s not about who we bring in – it’s who we keep.
"We had the best talent within Europe and around the world I would say. With Dele Alli playing the way he was. With Harry. With Christian Eriksen. With Sonny. Those sorts of players would get in most teams around the world and that’s the reality.
"That’s the problem you want to have but, at the same time, you don’t want them to become unsettled or become unhappy or move on.
"Unfortunately, Christian Eriksen – thank God – we all watched on Saturday which was heart breaking and it looks like it’s going to turn out all good. But it was horrible.
"But what a footballer he was and what a player. And we lost him. Devastating and you have to say, 'Have we recovered from that?' I’m not so sure that we have yet – a player of that ilk – of that quality.
"And then with Harry about to leave too – where does that take us? It’s tough. But if European teams want to be ambitious then they want the best players and if we have two or three of them, they’re going to come knocking."
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