Tottenham striker Harry Kane shouldn’t be criticised for being “honest” after admitting he could leave the club in order to fulfil his personal ambitions, according to Gary Lineker.

Kane came through the ranks with Spurs, helping them to compete for a regular place in the Premier League’s top four and reach the Champions League final over the course of his seven years in the senior squad.

The 26-year-old has hit 181 goals in 278 games, establishing himself as one of the most deadly centre-forwards in European football.

He has not been able to inspire Tottenham to any tangible success in the form of trophies, however, with it suggested he may have to move onto pastures new in order to get his hands on major silverware.

During a Q&A with former midfielder Jamie Redknapp on Instagram earlier this week, Kane insisted he wouldn’t be afraid to leave Spurs if a time comes when he no longer feels they are “going in the right direction”.

Lineker has described the England international’s transfer stance as “understandable”, while expressing his belief that Jose Mourinho’s side are a long way off challenging for the Premier League title at the moment.

“It’s understandable,” the former Tottenham striker told talkSPORT . “He’s a top-class player, he’s one of the great strikers in world football and there’s bound to be a degree of frustration with the recent progress at Spurs.

“It’s not easy. We’ve seen it with Arsenal that when you build a new ground it can slow down your development and that’s possibly happening with Tottenham.

“He’s just being very honest, isn’t he? He’s saying that if they don’t go on to win things… because every player wants to win things in their career. I didn’t win too much myself.

“But it would be unthinkable for a player of Harry Kane’s stature if he didn’t win anything in his entire career.

“You can’t criticise him too much for having that view. He’s been at the club for a long time and he’s been brilliant.

“And he might well stay there, they might possibly develop, but you’d say they’re four or five players short of certainly challenging for the title.”

Manchester United have been mooted as a possible next destination for Kane, and Real Madrid are reportedly weighing up a summer bid as Zinedine Zidane aims to bolster his attacking ranks at Santiago Bernabeu.

Lineker thinks Barcelona could also make good use of the Tottenham frontman, who may be tempted by the opportunity to undertake a new challenge in another major European league.

“I don’t think he’ll be short of options,” added Lineker when asked where Kane could end up if he leaves Spurs. “Possibly abroad, but it depends on him though.

“There are a lot of players who feel a bit uncomfortable about going abroad. When I played for Barcelona, a number of players in those days used to go abroad, quite a few went to Italy, and generally, the ones who were successful wanted to go there for the whole experience, and the ones that weren’t so successful perhaps just went for a few quid.

“So you need to be the kind of person who wants to experience another country’s culture, etc. He needs to weigh it all up. There are obviously clubs in England that would have him.

“You look at Manchester City with Sergio Aguero, who is 32 now, and Manchester United desperately need a centre-forward.

“But then you look at Barcelona. Luis Suarez’s legs are going a little bit so they could be looking for a centre-forward, who knows.

“Even at Real Madrid, Karim Benzema is no spring chicken anymore. There will be one or two of the giants of world football that will be looking for a striker.

“Strikers are the most important thing in the game!”