Football news - Harry Kane should set a better example as England captain over Tottenham future, says Paul Parker

I don’t know which way the Harry Kane situation will go, but he seems to have set himself up wrong. If he has played the game by not turning up for training, which would surprise me, then he has not lived up to his position as England captain.

If he wants to act like an England captain that means he has everyone looking up to him and seeing how he sets up himself. Nobody ever questioned Bryan Robson when he was England captain. He was captain for a reason, because he was a very good player and a leader of men. A lot of the others since then have been marketing machines. Kane is not a leader of men, but he is captain of England, and this isn’t the image that he should display to other players if you don’t get your own way.

If he had got injured at the Euros then Spurs would have been obliged to look after him because of his contract. So the other way around he shouldn’t be demanding things and trying to set a precedent. If he wants to do to it then do it properly as you would in any other industry, send in a letter of resignation and lay out your intentions and reasons why you want to leave.

All he talks about is his love for Spurs and everything about the club and he showed that commitment when he signed a six-year contract in 2018. But he has to understand that the reason Spurs are playing hardball and have put that fee on him is because of how much they think about him as a person and a player. They have done it for a reason. You sign a contract that entitles them to do that.

With the situation that football is in right now, and with what people think about Premier League players, it needs someone like Kane to set his stall out to prove everyone wrong and stand by what he did, which was signing that contract. If Spurs don’t want to sell him he needs to accept that.

Spurs are in a position now that nobody will question what they do, but people will question Kane. He will face criticism if he leaves, and he hasn’t had that before in his career. Spurs fans can be a bit unforgiving. There are ways of doing things and being respectful. Fans will still say in the moment that you left and are a traitor, but after a while they will understand it if the reasons were right.

I didn’t experience anything to the same degree as Kane during my career but I remember I was at Fulham and I needed to get away because I needed a change and the club was having big issues with finances. We had to force the issue in a way because the club was falling apart, but we did it for that reason. Spurs are not falling apart. They have a magnificent stadium, great history and heritage. Manchester City have not got that, but that doesn’t come into players’ minds right now.

People say Kane needs to leave Tottenham to win trophies, but is it all about that for him? If it is then fair enough he probably does need a move. But after you finish football you look back and might think you made some mistakes. Kane might win some medals at City but maybe when he looks back at his first club he might realise that he made a mistake with everything that has gone on. You don’t always have to win medals. I was lucky enough to win some but there are those bits in between when you look at where you were adored and loved and sometimes you should never turn your back on that. That’s what he has got with Spurs and their fans.

Could his performances be affected if he is unhappy? They shouldn’t do. He is Tottenham's biggest asset and main player. If he does sulk then everything should be taken away from him.

He should stand tall and show in training that he is doing right and set an example for the younger players at Tottenham. They should be looking at him and seeing that he was disappointed because he wanted to move, but he is trying to prove himself still and he is committed. It’s difficult but he should be able to handle it very well.

I don’t think it will be Kane and Jack Grealish for Manchester City this summer. I don’t think that would work out money-wise for City.

But if Grealish does go to City, which looks like happening, then he will not be guaranteed regular football, despite the pricetag. Pep Guardiola doesn’t do that for anybody.

And will he have to change his game as well? He will have to do more on the ball, running with it and keeping it, rather than falling over as often as he does. I don’t think Pep will deal with it. He had Lionel Messi who only really fell over when people hurt him. Grealish doesn’t do that right now.