Tottenham striker Harry Kane should join Real Madrid, says Graeme Souness

Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane should leave north London for Real Madrid and could become the first £200m ($280m) player if he does join Los Blancos in the summer, according to former Liverpool legend Graeme Souness.

Kane is in the form of his life for Mauricio Pochettino's side with 31 goals in just 32 games this season. His exploits have seen him talked about as one of the best strikers in the world and has led to interest from other clubs, with Real Madrid said to be keeping tabs on him.

With Zinedine Zidane's men in a state of disarray and club president Florentino Perez never shy of spending inordinate sums in order to sign the next superstar, Souness, who enjoyed plenty of European success during his time at Liverpool, thinks that Kane may become the world's first £200m player. He believes England's brightest hope should grasp the opportunity to join Los Blancos if they follow up their apparent interest, though Tottenham will strive to hold onto their coveted forward and will reportedly resist a world-record bid from his suitors.

"I believe that Harry Kane should leave for Real Madrid this summer, if he gets the chance. The fee Real will have to pay for Kane will start with a two and be followed by eight zeros," Souness wrote in his column for The Times.

"I reckon that he could become the first £200m player. Real broke the world record to sign Gareth Bale from Tottenham for £85.3m in 2013 and Kane's fee could surpass the £198m Paris Saint-Germain paid to sign Neymar from Barcelona last summer.

"They will pay that premium because putting the ball in the back of the net regularly is the hardest thing to do in football and, given his age, Kane should only get better. When Real come calling, they usually get who they want."

Kane, 24, proved to be Tottenham's saviour once again on Sunday (4 February) as he netted a late penalty to ensure his side a share of the spoils against Liverpool.

His crucial interventions will only further interest in him from Real et al, but Spurs will hope their talisman can remain unperturbed by speculation over his future and fire them to victory against bitter north London rivals Arsenal at Wembley on Sunday; Pochettino may decide to rest him for his side's FA Cup fourth round replay against Newport County as he looks to afford his players any respite possible as they battle through a rather unforgiving schedule, with a Champions League double header against Juventus around the corner.