2015 could be a memorable year for Tottenham Hotspur. If not the year, its first day could be, and more so, for Harry Kane in particular. The day when they tormented Chelsea, winning the bragging rights. The Spurs have placed themselves comfortably in the fifth spot, a place above North London rivals Arsenal. One man key to their Champions League aspirations is a rookie 21-yr old Harry Kane.
Born in Chingford, a suburban district of London which is a 20 minute drive from White Hart Lane, Kane was first spotted by Arsenal. The England U-21 international also had a trial with the Gunners alongside teammate Ryan Fredericks (now on loan at Middlesbrough), but the duo were turned down, and eventually snapped up by Tottenham. Goalscoring is Harry Kane’s forte. He has scored 17 goals in 30 appearances at youth level for England, which includes 8 in 10 for the U-21’s.
Despite a major summer of £110 million last summer, they managed just a sixth place finish in the Premier League. Things look different this season on the contrast. Mauricio Pochettino; albeit gradually, has managed to oust the timidness from amongst the players.
The Argentine has forged a close bond with Harry Kane in peculiar. The inability of £26 million signing Roberto Soldado coalesced by the ongoing personal issues of Togolese Emmanuel Adebayor meant Kane was burdened with the goalscoring freight, but the academy product didn’t let his manager down. A return of 16 goals in all competitions reveals the progress made by the striker who was loaned to no less than four clubs. The fact that only Sergio Agüero has bettered Kane’s tally amongst the Premier League attackers goes to show the rich vein of form he is in.
Thursday was no exception, and looked like just another day for Kane. Tottenham in the near seasons haven’t enjoyed playing against The Blues. Their last win in the current fixture came way back in April 2010, during which they have suffered as many as five defeats. When Diego Costa put the visitors ahead in the 18th minute, things looked like heading in the same old direction for the hosts. Harry Kane had different intentions, though. The England U-21 marksman, who soon could be a full time senior, was involved in all but one goals scored by his side. The first goal was a marvelous low drilled shot from outside of the box that nestled behind Thibaut Courtois in the Chelsea goal. His second was a brilliant curled effort after a virtuoso turn that was helped due some schoolboy defending from John Terry and Nemanja Matic. His further involvements came in the form of a foul, as Gary Cahill tripped him inside the box, and the resulting spot kick calmly converted by Andros Townsend. Kane nailed the final nail in Chelsea’s coffin by setting up Nacer Chadli for his sides’ fifth goal, capping off a memorable outing.
While manager Mauricio Pochettino has managed to protect his gem from the obvious ‘Next England Superstar’ tag, Kane’s brilliant showing against Chelsea might just break the protective ring. With England facing dearth of quality upfront, Harry Kane’s name being thrown in the mix was inevitable. But the striker has distanced himself from such talk. After quizzed by BT Sport on the same, he said, “I’m just enjoying it. I just want to be playing. We’ve had a lot of games over Christmas and it’s been great for me. Hopefully I can keep it up and keep doing the best I can for the team. The most important thing is that we’re winning and pushing up that table.”
Having scored 16 goals already, Spurs manager Pocettino was full of praise for Kane, and has challenged the Englishman to take his tally beyond 20 goals. Talking to BBC Sport in a post-match interview, he said, “Yes, why not (he can score 20 goals). He works hard every day and after he’s had the opportunity to play he has shown his skills.”But we need to recognise the team because the team performance was great today and we need to keep this feeling for the next step.”
Frank Lampard once famously went on to say,” It’s always bad to lose to Tottenham because they make DVD’s of it for the next 10 years.” While the thinly veiled exchanges amongst the London rivals continue, Harry Kane’s bamboozling performance is worth making a DVD.
Image Courtesy : SKY SPORTS