Sean Dyche could have told Harry Kane a decade ago that it would be difficult for him to get out of Tottenham.
Dyche, whose Everton side must stop Kane at Goodison on Monday night, failed in a bid to sign the future England captain at Burnley in 2013 after having mixed loan spells at Orient, Millwall, Norwich and Leicester.
He even went so far as to carry out background checks on the 19-year-old, but could not agree with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy.
Since then, Kane has become Tottenham’s and England’s record goalscorer and is approaching Alan Shearer’s mark in the Premier League. But he is still waiting for his first title and was unable to move to Manchester City two years ago when Levy paid £150m for him.
“Years ago, I tried to sign him at Burnley but financially it was too much,” said Dycke.
Sean Dyche admitted he tried to sign Harry Kane when he was still trying to prove himself
The Everton boss claimed he knew Kane would be special, and so did Tottenham
Kane has enjoyed mixed success during his loan spells with Leicester (left) and Norwich (right)
Harry was on loan from Norwich and Leicester. These moves may not have gone as well as he would have wanted, but I knew a few lads at Millwall who knew Harry from his spell there.
Millwall is a tough place to play, especially for a young footballer, but I’m told he’s handled it well.
I wish Tottenham would let us do that. But by then they’d seen what he could do – and the rest is history.
We had a call but even though Burnley were in the Premier League the numbers were just too much for us.
The timing was wrong. It wasn’t just me who was interested. I wish we were a starting point but Tottenham made a great decision.
Daichi was in charge of Burnley between 2012 and 2022 and has overseen a lot of changes at the club.
Could Kane have been seduced by Turf Moore? At the time, Daichi seemed to think it wasn’t impossible.
“I think he was patient, because he went to Norwich and Leicester thinking ‘I’m going to do well here,'” he explained.
“Harry doesn’t lack faith but sometimes when your career isn’t what you want it to be, you have to stick to your professionalism.
Harry never wavered. Sometimes the quietest loans, the ones that don’t go as you expected, are the ones you get the most out of.
Learn from it and know what you need to do. He was putting his head down, working harder and doing the right things on the training ground.
Kane ahs become the highest all-time goalscorer for both Tottenham and England
He shone again for England on the international break and also impressed at club level
Kane’s 21 league goals this season is just one fewer than Everton’s goals in total. Although he fell short of his goal, Daichi’s respect for the striker grew, both on and off the field.
“A few years later, I saw him on holiday in Portugal with his family, and we struck up a friendship, just chatting with him,” he said.
He was very generous in giving me some shirts to charity which I return. You just feel for people, whether they’re gamers or not. Harry is a great player but also a first class man and person.
Dycke has won three of his four home matches at Everton – all 1-0 – and still needs points with his side in the relegation battle.
Instead of facing Antonio Conte in the technical area, he will face Christian Stellini and Ryan Mason, with Conte leaving during the international break after a wave of anger targeting his players after the 3-3 draw with Southampton.
“Like most people, I was surprised because Conte is such a well-traveled senior manager, but there must have been a reason why he said what he did,” added Dicci.
Daichi admitted he was surprised to see Antonio Conte leave Tottenham last week
But he has to focus on his team, who need more points if they are to avoid relegation
Whether there are things going on behind the scenes that we know nothing about remains to be seen. But soccer is a very emotional sport and he probably let himself get carried away.
Do you remember Kevin Keegan? Sometimes this game shocks you and you think “I’ll say exactly how I see it”.
People told me it was weird. Other people said it was refreshing. I figured there was some reason or it was just a blast at the moment.
We’ve all been tempted to do it – but you often don’t. Spurs are still a really good outfit, so you have to wonder what tipped the balance.
(tags for translation) The Daily Mail
