Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp believes Spurs chairman Daniel Levy had no option other than to hand lead striker Harry Kane a bumper new contract, after it was confirmed the England star has signed a deal that will keep him at the club until 2022.
Levy has been reluctant to sanction the kind of wage demands many of Tottenham's Premier League rivals can offer, which has seen a host of star names leave the club in recent years.
Yet Redknapp -- who has knowledge of the set-up at Tottenham as his father Harry worked under Levy's watch during his time as Spurs manager -- suggested the club could not risk losing homegrown hero Kane, and the confirmation that he has signed a new contract is evidence the club is ready to join English football's big hitters.
"The Harry Kane contract situation was one everyone was watching carefully and Tottenham could not allow another one of their big names to walk away," Redknapp told ESPN FC at an event to promote Sky Sports' coverage of festive period football.
"They sold Michael Carrick, Luka Modric and Gareth Bale as soon as they reached that top level and there was a worry that if Kane did not get the contract he deserved, he could go the same way.
"Tottenham fans have been patient with the club over certain situations because they have got lucky in the last few years to find a player in Harry Kane who has gone to that level, and they didn't have to pay a penny to get him.
�� @HKane: "I feel I'm at a stage in my life and career where it's time to take that next step." #COYS pic.twitter.com/CiXtF9a9YH
- Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 1, 2016
"There was never any expectations that Kane could be a top level striker when he was going off on loan everywhere a few years ago, but he is now a proven and brilliant striker and he needed to be rewarded for that.
"He needs to be paid the going rate for a player of his standing in the game. He should be on the wages at Tottenham that he would be on if he was at Manchester United and I was not sure whether the club would give him that kind of deal.
"If he didn't get that, then you would risk losing him to a club willing to pay him what he is worth and there would be plenty of those out there because we can all see that the guy is top quality now.
"Harry seems to be a level-headed guy and is happy at Tottenham, but you could not risk a situation where you treat him differently because he is a Spurs fan and he loves the club."
Redknapp is hoping the decision to hand Kane a new deal is evidence that Levy and Tottenham are ready to challenge the top clubs in English football by paying top wages, as he insisted there would be no jealously in the Spurs dressing room following confirmation of the new deal for the club's No.10.
"They had to give him the wages he was entitled to and to do that, they needed to change their policy," Redknapp said.
"Tottenham are so close now to where they want to be at the top of the English game and it was a moment to kick on and give top players the kind of wages they can get at other Premier League clubs.
"Also, there will be no problem with Kane getting that money in the Spurs dressing room because the other players will realise he is a player who can take them all to another level.
"When I was at Liverpool and some players were earning a lot more than the rest of us, it never created any problem in the dressing room, not for one second.
"I never looked at Robbie Fowler and questioned why he was on more money than me and I'm sure that will be the case with Kane at Spurs. He is their main man and he has to be paid the big money."