LONDON -- For so long, Tottenham could not seem to envision a future without Harry Kane, just as no other team could ever truly plan for his arrival. He was too crucial, too prolific, too loyal. His exit in search of any kind of silverware -- something Spurs could never deliver -- had been speculated for years but always seemed surreal, like some kind of horrid fever dream. That tomorrow, it seemed, would never quite come.
Until, earlier this month, when it did.
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Kane made a £120 million ($152m) move to Bayern Munich last Saturday, finally ending his storied 19-year association with Tottenham that saw him emerge from the club's youth ranks and become the best English scorer in a generation. And so, that future without their record scorer has arrived: first, in a 2-2 draw away to Brentford to kick off their Premier League campaign last weekend; then another awakening Saturday against Manchester United -- Spurs' first home game of the season.
There is an irony that Spurs' first home fixture without Kane came against United, who seemed for all the world to be perfect suitors for Kane and certainly longtime admirers, but when the time came, never lodged any formal interest. There are likely good reasons for that -- the difficulty of prizing Kane away to a Premier League rival, the risk of being left with nothing, or the outlandish fee paid by Bayern if it ever did -- but the end result (not landing the England striker) remains the same.
Instead, United opted to sign 20-year-old Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta for a £64m initial fee, although he is not likely to make his debut until next month while he deals with a back injury. Should Hojlund, who scored nine goals in Serie A last season, fail to make the desired impact, then missing out on Kane this summer could come to haunt United.
The beginnings of that dread could be remembered startlingly clear Saturday.
"We believe these players, last year as well, can score goals. It's also obvious why we signed a striker," United manager Erik ten Hag said in the postmatch news conference.
In the absence of Hojlund, United went with Marcus Rashford leading the line through the middle, a role he plays well although not his favourite position -- he admits he prefers to play off the left. Either side of him, Alejandro Garnacho and Antony starred and found plenty of space in behind Spurs' high-up, inverted full backs. The issue came in front of goal.
The chances flowed, but the goals did not. There were almost too many missed chances to count: Antony's early shot from the edge of the box missed the target altogether, while Rashford headed over the bar when handed a delicious floated cross from Bruno Fernandes. Minutes later, Fernandes headed over a gilt-edged chance from an unmarked position on the six-yard box.
United had lodged 14 shots but kept just three on target by half-time, and their 1.81 expected goals was the most they had managed in a first half without scoring for 15 years. Antony added another missed opportunity shorty into the second period, and that was as good as it got.
"You have seen today that the first-half performance was very good, but we have to understand you have to score a goal, the meaning of the first goal. Players need to take responsibility. It's about focus, passion and desire," Ten Hag added.
Spurs, meanwhile, missed Kane's presence almost as much. Richarlison again took his place but made almost no impact, and a pair of superb saves from André Onana quelled any threat they otherwise managed. Pape Matar Sarr's decisive strike within minutes of the second half starting got them off the mark and paved the way for a bright, attacking half for Spurs -- which included a second goal later on, this time an own goal by Lisandro Martinez. However, Richarlison's subbing on 70 minutes signalled all you needed to know about their solution up front.
"I thought the manner in which we played was a great start," said Ange Postecoglou, who achieved his first win as Spurs boss. "When the final whistle goes, from my perspective, that's fantastic fertile ground for me to keep going. It leaves it a fairly decent benchmark because that's the expectation for us when we go out there.
This is supposed to be the season that Ten Hag, who led United back into the Champions League last season at the first time of asking, went one further and led them closer to a title challenge. And yet, after two games, they seem a fair way off still: Their opening 1-0 victory over Wolves was wholly unconvincing -- potentially even undeserved, if you factor in the error to not award Wolves a penalty in the last moments. Follow that up with Saturday's loss, and United look like they need to prove their top-four credentials all over again.
If Hojlund doesn't hit the ground running, then another year without a prolific striker could follow. It will be a worrying prospect for United's brass as they leave the Tottenham Hotspur stadium on Saturday. There is a 25-foot mural of Kane painted across a large brick wall on Whitehall Street, just steps away from the stadium, complete with an accompanying tagline: "He's one of our own."
However, that's not true, not anymore. As of this summer, Kane now wears red -- only the shade of Bayern's, not United's.