World class Harry Kane is playing his way out of Spurs to Real Madrid

Harry Kane could hardly have envisaged this World Cup going any better, for him personally or for England.

On Saturday afternoon, Kane will lead his country out in a World Cup quarter-final against Sweden, having overcome adversity in the first knockout tie.

They did not fall behind, have a man sent off or lose key players through injury, but they did let in a gut-wrenching and underserved equaliser in stoppage-time.

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They did have to deal with all manner of snide antics from the Colombians, a referee in Mark Geiger who lacked authority and biggest of all, a penalty shootout.

And Kane led them through it all. He was the towering figure at the front, the one who kept his nerve to score from the penalty spot in both normal time and at the end, but really he was so much more than that.

Throughout the game when Kane was in possession he either used it sensibly or found himself fouled, buying time for his team and giving them the chance to mount another attack. Whilst the Colombians were involved in all sorts of dark arts, desperately trying to wind England up and in Kane’s case, dealying his penalty, the skipper kept a cool head.

He battled hard against Davinson Sanchez and Yerry Mina all game – an impressive centre-back paoiring – and at times played slightly deeper than we have seen in previous games. Despite the fact he was out on his feet and quite possibly would have been taken off around the 75th minute if this was any other game, Kane kept going.

When Vardy came on he changed his role again and showed he is more than just a goalscorer, threading a number of balls through for his team-mates. It was a world class display, both as a striker and as a leader.

There were people who questioned whether Kane was world class before this tournament. Yes, he has scored for fun in the Premier League for the past three seasons, but he hadn’t done it on a world stage.

This morning, now that he has netted six goals in just three games on the very biggest stage and combined that with a monumental, captain’s display, nobody is asking that question.

Harry Kane is a world class footballer, arguably the best out and out striker in the world and now the question is this: has he outgrown Tottenham Hotspur?

It must be noted that he recently signed a lucrative five-year deal at Spurs, but a lot has changed in the world of Kane since then.

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That first penalty took his tally to six goals for the tournament, with potentially three games left to play if England do the unthinkable and reach the final.

Six is the amount of goals James Rodriguez scored four years ago to win the Golden Boot and it is how many Thomas Muller netted in 2010 to win the same prize.

In fact, in nine of the past ten World Cups, six goals has been enough to claim the Golden Boot. Ronaldo’s stunning eight-goal haul in 2002, when Brazil won the trophy in South Korea, is the only time a player managed more.

That is the sort of stratosphere Kane is about to be catapulted into, should he find the net again in Russia.

And when you look at the career paths of those who have claimed that trophy, Spurs fans might start to worry.

Rodriguez earned a big-money move to Real Madrid on the back of his displays for Colombia, while Muller was already at German superclub Bayern Munich.

In 2006, Miroslav Klose remained at Werder Bremen, but a year later he was on his way to Bayern.

Ronaldo’s tournament-winning contribution in 2002 saw him swap Inter Milan for Barcelona and Croatia’s Davor Suker was already a Real Madrid player in 1998.

Gary Linekar was the last English player to win the golden boot in 1986 and he was snapped up by Barcelona shortly after the tournament finished.

When you have the sort of tournament Kane is having, the very biggest clubs in the world – the superclubs – begin to bat their eyelids.

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That was already happening with Kane, make no mistake about it, but now you would not be surprised if Real Madrid reached for their wallet and made a move. They seem the most likely fit for the 24-year-old.

While Spurs may have been the most consistent side in the Premier League over the past three years, they have a new stadium, one of the world’s best managers and Kane is their hometown hero, you’ll struggle to find a player who, when push comes to shove, can actually turn down a move to one of the Spanish giants – Real Madrid in Kane’s case.

History shows that winning the Golden Boot only heightens their interest.

Spurs fans are lapping up Kane’s performances in Russia on social media, loving the fact that their academy product is England’s star man and the favourite for the Golden Boot.

But Golden Boot winners usually end up at the world’s biggest clubs and Spurs may be a quality side, but they aren’t one of them.

The fear for them now is that Kane’s performances for England could well be playing himself out of Tottenham Hotspur.