Tottenham in decline and Harry Kane is warning he might not wait for an upturn

Striker's comments amount to a vote of no confidence in Jose Mourinho

January 1, 2020: Southampton 1 Tottenham 0 (Premier League). A body blow for Spurs and Mourinho as Harry Kane suffered a torn hamstring tendon that required surgery. There were fears he might not play again this season but Kane insisted last week that he could return in April. Reuters

August 25, 2019: Spurs 0 Newcastle 1 (Premier League). The third game of the season and alarm bells are ringing for then manager Mauricio Pochettino. Spurs are beaten at home by a Newcastle side that had lost their opening two games, with their new £40 million (Dh191m) striker Joelinton scoring the winner. It remains the only league goal the Brazilian has scored from 28 appearances this season. Getty

September 24: Colchester 0 Spurs 0. AET. Colchester win 4-3 on penalties (League Cup third round). League Two Colchester inflict arguably the biggest upset of Pochettino's managerial career. No goals after extra-time, Christian Eriksen and Lucas Moura then missed in the shootout and another opportunity to end Spurs' trophy drought was gone. Getty

October 1: Spurs 2 Bayern Munich 7 (Champions League group stage). A humbling night for Tottenham as they are thrashed by the German champions in front of a shell-shocked Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Serge Gnabry scored four goals in a match Spurs had actually taken the lead in and were still on level terms until just before half-time. Getty

October 5: Brighton 3 Spurs 0 (Premier League). Just four days after the Bayern humiliation, Spurs were thrashed again, this time by Graham Potter's Brighton. Pochettino said after the match: 'We did not play well'. Getty

November 9: Spurs 1 Sheffield United 1 (Premier League). Pochettino's final game after five years charge before he was ruthlessly sacked by chairman Daniel Levy. The club were 14th in the table. Getty

December 11: Bayern Munich 3 Spurs 1 (Champions League group stage). Bayern complete a 10-3 aggregate victory over Spurs in two group-stage matches, who now have Jose Mourinho - the former manager of Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Manchester United - in charge. Getty

February 16: Aston Villa 2 Spurs 3 (Premier League). Crisis time for Mourinho. Son Heung-min broke his arm during the game and would be ruled out for the rest of the season, leaving Spurs desperately short of attacking options. Reuters

February 19: Spurs 0 RB Leipzig 1 (Champions League last-16 first leg). RB Leipzig's Timo Werner scored the only goal of the game to put the German outfit in the driving seat to reach the quarter-finals. Reuters

March 1: Spurs 2 Wolves 3 (Premier League). Raul Jiminez scored the winner as spurs were beaten for a third game in a row, following the Euro loss to Leipzig and London derby defeat to Chelsea in the league. The win moved Wolves above Spurs in the league and Mourinho's team currently sit seventh - five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea. PA

March 4: Tottenham 1 Norwich City 1. AET. Norwich win 3-2 on penalties (FA Cup fifth round). A bad night all-round for Spurs. Beaten by the Premier League bottom club on penalties and then defender Eric Dier was involved in a confrontation in the stands with a fan who had allegedly been involved in an altercation with the player's brother. PA

It was an ending of sorts when Harry Kane limped off at Southampton on New Year’s Day.

Not, it is transpiring, the end of his season, with the delay to the footballing fixture list affording a chance to get fit again, but perhaps the last time he will represent Tottenham in front of any kind of crowd.

In his mild-mannered way, Kane sounded a warning on Sunday. “I’ll always love Spurs but I've always said if I don't feel we're progressing as a team or going in the right direction, then I'm not someone to just stay there for the sake of it,” he said in an Instagram Live chat with Jamie Redknapp. “It’s not a definite I am going to stay there forever.”

It is indisputable Tottenham have regressed. Champions League finalists last season, they were knocked out with embarrassing ease by Leipzig in the last 16.

A team who were in the title race 14 months ago now have half as many points as Liverpool and two fewer than Sheffield United.

Tottenham’s incoherence is not merely a consequence of injuries, Kane’s included.

Their decline was initially masked by their European exploits. Now they bear the look of a team in transition, with a group of younger players, a collection of declining ones and a potential future in the Europa League.

It is a question if Kane is willing to wait and if he believes their future is brighter. “Of course I want to win trophies, and to do that sooner rather than later,” he said.

Kane turns 27 in July. He has played in a Champions League final but his only silverware has come in the form of individual honours: the two Premier League Golden Boots and, still more prestigious, its World Cup counterpart.

He can be a throwback in some respects but that does not necessarily make him the new George Cohen, the World Cup winner who retired without a medal to show for his club career.

Kane has 181 Tottenham goals and a place in their history, but he sounded willing to pass up the chance to overhaul Jimmy Greaves’ club record of 266.

Mauricio Pochettino used his progressiveness and persuasive powers to give Spurs an allure, to placate and to coax players to sign up for a project when they could be paid more elsewhere.

While Kane praised Tottenham’s current manager, his words amounted to a vote of no confidence in Jose Mourinho.

The striker was the subject of an early charm offensive, the recipient of many a Mourinho text. The Portuguese can buddy up to pivotal figures in a dressing room but a serial winner is unaccustomed to his players leaving his club to pursue glory elsewhere.

But extricating himself from Tottenham may be no simple task. As the flagship player for a club with a £1 billion (Dh4.5bn) stadium, he is a unique case.

How much of Spurs’ identity revolves around Kane? If chairman Daniel Levy decides he is integral, both from a footballing and a financial perspective, he could be a high-tech ground’s most deluxe fitting.

Even if he is available, some baulk at dealing with Levy; “more painful than my hip replacement”, in Sir Alex Ferguson’s words.

It is not merely the coronavirus effects on football’s finances that mean a £150 million or a £200 million fee feels unrealistic; both Kane’s age and his increasingly injury-prone nature should preclude that.

At the top end of the market, there are fewer feasible bidders. Talk of Real Madrid has faded in recent years. Manchester United’s interest dates back to Louis van Gaal’s days, but could they afford both Kane and Jadon Sancho?

If not and if they look for the long-term investment, it may feel that Kane’s time has passed.