Harry Kane’s £7,200 statue finally revealed after being hidden away for years

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Pictures of a Harry Kane statue first commissioned in 2019 have finally been revealed despite the artwork still not being on public display.

Waltham Forest Council in north-east London approved plans five years ago to build a sculpture in honour of the Chingford-raised footballer. The cost of the project totalled more than £7,200 but, despite being completed in 2020, the statue has still not been put up in public.

Photos obtained by The Big Issue now show the statue for the first time, with Kane sat on a bench with a football on his lap in full England kit.

Several attempts have been made to house the statue in public but no suitable place has yet to be found. Local Conservative councillors had suggested placing the item on Chingford Overground station but those plans were scuppered after a risk assessment by Transport for London.

Another plan to place it in Ridgeway Park, where the England captain played as a youngster, also fell through after councillors scrapped the proposal.

Speaking to the BBC in February, councillor Emma Best said she had spent “hours and hours” trying to find a suitable home for the statue. A spokesperson for the Bayern Munich striker had noted they remained “excited” for the statue’s release and hoped it would occur in the coming months.

“Especially with Harry being England and Tottenham’s all-time top goal scorer. It is what he deserves. The location of the statue is really important to us and like Emma said we are having some issues at the moment, but when we get it right, we will be happy to go,” the spokesperson also told the BBC.

Kane overcame an injury scare playing for Bayern Munich at the weekend to join up with the England squad for international duty on Tuesday afternoon. Gareth Southgate’s side have friendlies against Brazil and Belgium as they continue their preparations for Euro 2024 in Germany this summer.