DANNY MURPHY: Harry Kane has to act now and leave troubled Tottenham rather than have regrets

It’s a huge summer for Harry Kane. If he doesn’t leave Tottenham now, he never will. He’ll finish as the club’s record goalscorer and have a statue built outside the stadium if he stays but at the expense of winning the trophies his talent deserves.

I’m sure he’s thinking about it every day because time isn’t on his side. Right now, he is among the best three strikers in the world and would improve any team.

But he turns 28 this summer, with younger models Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe becoming increasingly attractive to the elite clubs every year.

Harry Kane (left) wanted to give Spurs coach Jose Mourinho every chance of glory this season

The hotshot loves Tottenham but has cut an isolated figure in defeats at the likes of Man City

Kane clearly loves Spurs and wanted to give Jose Mourinho every chance this season. But they are miles off challenging for a Premier League title or Champions League so now it’s decision time.

Does he want to be like Thierry Henry, who left Arsenal for Barcelona and won the Champions League?

Or Jamie Vardy, who stayed at Leicester when he was coveted by other clubs and could have won more silverware but will be remembered as the Foxes’ greatest player?

One thing looks clear. From this summer onwards, future offers will be harder to come by. So I do think he should twist rather than stick.

Kane faces a similar dilemma to Premier League legends such as Arsenal hero Thierry Henry

Henry lost the Champions League final in 2006 but won the cup after switching to Barcelona

Kane’s situation is complicated by having another world-class centre-forward in the marketplace in Haaland, while Mbappe, the hottest property of the lot, might want to sample life outside Paris Saint-Germain at some stage.

Picking the right club would also be vital for Kane, who doesn’t have the luxury of helping to build a long-term project.

For example, Manchester United would be improved by signing the England captain and could afford his transfer fee and wages but, for Kane, is it worth leaving Spurs without that guarantee of immediate success?

United might still be a year or two away from winning the big trophies which makes me think Manchester City looks a better fit.

City are blowing everyone away at the moment but Pep Guardiola is too shrewd to want to go into next season relying on Gabriel Jesus or a ‘false nine’ now it’s clear Sergio Aguero is playing fewer games.

Kane’s predicament is made more complex by the rise of hot properties such as Erling Haaland

A fortnight ago, Kane fed on scraps at the Etihad as City hammered Spurs 3-0. He must have wondered how many goals he’d score in a Pep team and how many medals he would win.

The great unknown is how Kane would feel about playing for one of Tottenham’s Premier League rivals, which is why you also couldn’t fully rule out a move abroad.

Haaland is in a slightly different situation. He should strike while the iron is hot and leave Dortmund this summer rather than wait for his buy-out clause to be activated in 12 months.

But at 20, he doesn’t yet have to go to a Real Madrid where every defeat is a crisis and the manager’s future uncertain.

The key factor when I was deciding which club to join was the rapport I had with a manager. Haaland is clearly close to his fellow Norwegian Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and I think that might give Manchester United a chance despite their recent lack of honours.

Clubs around the continent are also after Kylian Mbappe, who is on fire at Paris Saint-Germain

One of the key questions surrounding Kane is his desire to join any of Spurs’ domestic rivals

Some players like the challenge of helping a team build success rather than maintaining it. It was a reason behind Virgil van Dijk’s decision to join Liverpool when he had other options.

If Haaland dedicated three years to United, helping them restore former glories, he’d be up there with heroes from the past. And if it doesn’t work out, he’d still be able to get another big move two years later.

This is going to be a fascinating window. If two world-class centre-forwards are available at the same time, no club will be able to ignore it, from PSG to Liverpool.

Haaland and Mbappe are the future and would make the most business sense. Kane has to act now rather than wonder what might have been and hope Spurs do not hold out for unrealistic money to deny him the chance.

He is one of the best strikers in the world and knows he should be competing for the biggest prizes. Tottenham are a tremendous and well-run club but they are falling well short for him.