ARSENAL legend Liam Brady has admitted that it was his decision that led Harry Kane to being released from Arsenal’s academy aged eight.
The England captain would go on to play for Sunday League side Ridgeway Rovers before being picked up by Spurs and the rest is history.
GettyBrady was Arsenal’s talisman in the ’70s[/caption]
AlamyDespite a hugely successful spell as Arsenal’s academy manager, Harry Kane left the Arsenal academy under Brady’s watch[/caption]
In an interview with The Daily Mail, Brady, 67, says the buck for the decision to release Kane stops with him.
Brady was Arsenal‘s academy manager between 1996 and 2014 after spells in charge of Celtic and Brighton.
The former Ireland international said it was a job he was incredibly passionate about and “the most rewarding part after my playing days.”
He would nurture talents such as Ashley Cole, Jack Wilshere and Bukayo Saka to come through the Hale End academy but Brady knows that Kane was the one that got away.
On the talents of Cole and Wilshere, he said: “With Ashley, in my opinion he became the best left back in Europe. I’m sorry Arsenal fans feel so indifferent about him.
“I was sad about how it went for Jack Wilshere with injuries because, in my opinion, he was too brave for his own good. If it was a 50-50 with Graeme Souness, he would have it. Jack went into every tackle.”
When asked about Kane, Brady said: “I didn’t have anything to do with the decision, but the buck stops with me. That’s football.’ Win some, lose some. It is a brutal, brilliant, ludicrous game.”
Kane would go on to join Spurs where he rose through the academy to become the club’s all-time highest goalscorer and captain of the England national team.
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With Arsenal in the market for a striker this January and Ivan Toney top of the list, it’s fascinating to imagine what an alternative history would have looked like if Kane did not leave Arsenal’s academy.
Instead, he’s flourishing at Bayern Munich with 12 goals and five assists in nine appearances and scoring goals from his own half following his £100million transfer.
On Arsenal’s chances of winning the title this year, Brady said: “I like the way Mikel Arteta has them playing. But it gives me a nervous breakdown when they play in their own box.”
Unfortunately for The Gunners however, he can’t see past Manchester City for the title: “Anybody that knows anything about football would say Manchester City. I think we’re all hoping as fans, Arsenal fans, Liverpool fans, that they might just take their eye off the ball this season. But…”