Belotti and Kane

In an interesting way, these two players are connected now. I say that in reference to the fact that they both recently competed in the final of EURO 2020 TM, with the "lesser player" coming out on top. I've not gone and verified this, but I'm pretty sure that was the first trophy for Belotti, and Kane has still never won one. Hence why I thought about this topic. Another similarity is that they're strikers, obviously, but another is that they've both been linked with moves away from the clubs they captain (at least part time). They're also born in the same year ('93), thus approaching what should be the prime of their careers.

Starting with Belotti, who I'm somewhat obsessed with in the Serie A context since I began watching the league regularly in 2018/19. I had this stream of consciousness about him, in regards to his club situation. Basically, like many players nowadays, Belotti had his stock peak a few years ago, but the club's owner "held him ransom". At least, that's what the narrative is. This, to put it bluntly, is quite possibly the worst thing about modern football. The whole idea that the only aspects of importance are money and trophies. Any team with a half decent player, but that isn't one of a select few, will almost inevitably lose said player. It's either down to money or trophies, and these clubs have to sell players to sustain. When I think about it philosophically, I don't get why fandom is still a thing when this is the case, but that's another article. The point is, Belotti has now seen his team slip down the table, playing atrocious football and battling relegation. However, he's the captain, the fans love him, and the club is trying to re-sign him by offering him a raise. Part of my thought process earlier when brainstorming this idea was what psychological effect the EURO final had on each player. For Belotti, he could easily say forget "ambition", I just won a trophy with my country against the odds. He could love the city and want to stay. The options, at least two that I've heard, are Roma and Sevilla, connected by Monchi. Personally, I see what's going on with Sevilla, selling promising players and clearly hemorrhaging money, and it makes me think... On the one hand, they are getting players in their primes, at least if these deals all go through, Belotti would fit in and potentially win something. Barcelona and Madrid are mediocre right now and there's not that much hope for the coming years, as of now. Roma, on the other hand, would be the more typical move for an Italian. He's from the Bergamo area, so it's not like's a Turin native. Mourinho is a great coach, obviously, but will that club win anything? They haven't in the recent past. Belotti could think, well dang, why risk ruining a comfortable situation (like his buddy, Immobile, when he went abroad) to potentially still not win, right after winning the EURO.

On the other hand, having lost yet another final, we find Harry Kane. The main issue here is obvious; do you stay and become a "legend" or attempt to move on to win trophies? With him, unlike Belotti, there will be a substantial fee paid (most likely by Man City) if that goes down, due to his contract being good for another few years. It would be a lie to say Spurs aren't in a much better situation than Torino. It's obvious. It's super sad as well because of the plane crash way back in 1949 that killed the whole team when they were at their peak. You don't ever really recover from that, I don't think. Spurs in recent years have had some of the best teams in their history. That counts for something, for sure, but at the same time the trophy cabinet is bare. Playing for a "finished, defensive manager" in Mourinho, Kane racked up 23 goals and 14 assists in 35 games. Video game numbers. Nuno is now the coach, and they seem to be doing good business in the market. Got rid of Lamela, brought in Gil. Signed Gollini on loan. Rumored to be looking at Vlahovic. The question is, are they doing this to finally build the squad into what it could have been, or is this with the view of selling Kane to City? It's a huge difference. It would be typical Spurs, not that that's a horrible thing business wise, to have this amazing window only to find it funded by the sale of their best player. If they're doing this separately, however, it's a clear sign of intent. "Big clubs" should act like it. Arsenal and Spurs have been neglecting this aspect for a while, and it shows in the league table. Another point to make here, not that it really means much, is that Kane vastly overachieved last season in terms of xA (14 vs 7 expected) and a decent amount in xG (23 v 20 expected). Both players scored 4 pens. Kane lost in the EURO final, though he played well for most of the tournament. You just wonder if that loss will motivate him to push himself further at Spurs, or if he'll want a better situation so he can win.

Just on a side note, I found that picture above of the EURO final, right before the shootout, and a number of players in the pic can be used to argue either side of this debate. Sancho, Stones, Maguire, Sterling, Stones all moved clubs and have had varying degrees of success. Berardi is in the same boat as Belotti, while Bernardeschi has been a failure at Juve since leaving Fiorentina. Even Bonucci made a mistake trading Juve for Milan, so much so that he went right back to Juve the following season. Any move will look good or bad based on the fee and how the player gets on. That's just what it is. If a player values stability and enjoys the club he's at, why leave? At the same time, it's a short career and I'd NEVER fault a player for moving on, as long as it makes sense. Like, Coutinho and Griezmann to Barca never made sense, given where Messi plays, so I was never in support of those moves. Going to play for Guardiola or Lopetegui/Mourinho (even now) is gonna be a step up, coaching wise, so I would fully support both strikers leaving their current clubs.

To conclude, I could see both going, or both staying. Really just depends on the willingness of clubs to pay the fees expected by their owners and whether they want to leave. I know that sounds simple, but it's true. They could both be happy where they are, or they could want more in terms of winning. Belotti has more say in what happens, given his contract situation, but he also just won a major trophy. If I were to bet, I'd say they both stay. City WOULD be smart to buy Kane instead of Grealish, if it came down to that, but I could see them selling Bernardo and getting both, or waiting for Haaland. With Belotti, Torino are screwed if he leaves for nothing. I expect him to sign the contract, get his raise, and that'll be that.