Harry Kane has made no secret of his ambitions – Real Madrid, Manchester United and Man City could realise them but has Erling Haaland scuppered him?

Harry Kane has, once again, failed to quash rumours surrounding a possible transfer away from Tottenham Hotspur.

The England captain, like he is every summer, is the subject of speculation with a number of rivals looking to improve their striking options, including Manchester United, Man City, and Real Madrid.

Spurs fans would be hoping their star man, who has been truly sensational this season, would immediately shoot down suggestions of a move.

However, Kane, it would appear, is an eternal realist and isn’t keen on showing his hand entering a busy few months of Premier League, Carabao Cup and international action.

“I think that’s a hard question to answer right now,” Kane said when put to him that he might have to leave to realise any trophy ambition.

“It’s important that all my focus is on the two England games coming up now and the rest of the season with Spurs and then the Euros. To be thinking about speculation or rumours would be damaging in terms of my own performance.

“I always like to be focused on one goal and one job and that’s to finish strong with Spurs, win these qualifiers with England and hopefully go on and have a great Euros. Look, I try to stay out of that speculation as much as possible.

“I’m fully focussed on doing the job on the pitch from now until the end of the summer, and then we’ll see where we go from there.”

It’s not the first time Kane has cast doubts on his future with Tottenham, although he has never said he wants to leave the club.

Almost a year ago today he answered a very similar question about his future with another very honest response: “I couldn’t say yes, I couldn’t say no.

“I love Spurs, I’ll always love Spurs, but it’s one of them things I’ve always said if I don’t feel like we’re progressing as a team or going in the right direction, I’m not someone to stay there just for the sake of it.

“I’m an ambitious player. I want to become a top top player, so it all depends on what happens as a team and how we progress as a team.

“So, it’s not a definite I’m going to stay there forever but it’s not a no either.”

One could easily argue, despite their progression to a Carabao Cup final, Spurs have failed to kick on under Jose Mourinho and have, as the weeks gone on, got worse under the Portuguese not better.

Their recent Europa League humiliation at the hands of Dinamo Zagreb exposed a real lack of quality on the fringe of their squad, while even some regulars showed a lack of application in the shock 3-2 aggregate loss.

Manchester United, Man City, and Real Madrid would be the frontrunners if Kane does decided that, at 27 years old, he needs to move on.

All three clubs represent excellent opportunities to very quickly realise his dreams of winning silverware.

That a player of Kane’s quality remains potless and only has individual awards like Premier League and World Cup Golden Boots to his name, is crying shame.

Even the most fervent Tottenham fan wouldn’t be unable to conscionably stop him from leaving to reach his peak.

A problem for Kane could be his age and his value, he will turn 28 in July and possible destinations may not have the money to land him while, if they do, they may wish to sign Erling Haaland instead,

Speaking on BT Sport earlier this month, the former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand said: “It’s difficult, a season or two ago I think Harry Kane would’ve been their [Man City’s] first-choice.

“He can play that No.10 role, he can come deep, be part of the midfield and create extra numbers in there.

“I think because of the age could be a concern and the price tag.

“When you have people like [Erling] Haaland, it’s a different proposition in terms of longevity, a player you can build around for a number of years.”

And Jermain Defoe, Kane’s former teammate at Spurs, has told talkSPORT Kane’s refusal to leave so far could become a regret.

He told Darren Bent’s Boot Room: “You have to win and bring silverware, otherwise it’s not good enough. When you actually achieve that and the feeling you get from that, wow man. I wish I had that earlier on in my career.

“If Harry Kane wants that and wants to win trophies then it looks like he has to go.

“I don’t think it will be easy for him to leave and he might be looking at it and want to finish off being the highest goalscorer in the club’s history and see where that takes him.

“He can hopefully win a few trophies, but if he’s really craving medals then he really has to go.”