A couple of days back, Tottenham made a huge statement as they convincingly defeated Premier League leaders Chelsea 2-0 at the White Hart Lane. With the win, Mauricio Pochettino’s men put an end to Chelsea’s 13-match winning run in the league that had lasted since the month of October last year.
The North Londoners have now won five matches on a trot in the league since mid-December, post their 1-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford. Hull City, Burnley, Southampton and Watford were Spurs’ previous victims before they clinically stifled Antonio Conte’s men on Wednesday night.
And two men who have been the most pivotal figures for Tottenham in this impressive run of form are Harry Kane and Dele Alli. The two Englishmen have hit the peak form for Spurs right around the festive period and have been instrumental in their recent run of good results.
Harry Kane, who missed out five games earlier in the season due to injury, has now scored 10 goals in 15 appearances in the Premier League and has assisted two more. And Alli who had a subdued start to the season also has 10 strikes ato his name now with a sole assist to go with them. Out of these 10 goals, seven have come in the last four games with the 20-year old grabbing a double against Southampton, Watford and Chelsea in three successive games.
And on the back of these highly impressive showings, it has come as no surprise that the Tottenham aces are garnering huge interest from big clubs across Europe. Manchester United have been credited with an interest in 23-year old Kane for quite some time now and it has now been reported that the Red Devils are monitoring Alli as well, who is also a £50 million summer target for current UEFA Champions League holders Real Madrid. With such big clubs knocking the doors and the amount of funds involved, Tottenham may be tempted to get a deal done, but they should not let their star duo leave the Lane at any costs.
Last season, Tottenham came so very close to winning the Premier League title and Kane and Alli were the backbones of their campaign. They were the key for Spurs in the attacking third, lending them the firepower upfront, with both of them being directly involved in 45 goals for the North Londoners out of the 69 they had scored throughout the 2015-16 term in the English top flight. Both the attackers, at such a young age, led Pochettino’s men admirably and brought them within striking distance of their first ever league victory.
And it has been no different story this season either. Tottenham went through somewhat of a lull when Kane was out due to an injury, especially with Alli not hitting his strides back then. But ever since Kane’s return and Alli’s resurgence, the Lilywhites have been next to unstoppable in attack. During Kane’s absence, Spurs scored only 6 goals in 5 PL games, drawing three fixtures and winning two.
However, post his return in November, Pochettino’s side have racked up an impressive 25 strikes in 10 games, winning eight times and losing twice. Alli and Kane have scored 15 out of these 25 goals and have assisted one strike apiece, indicating how crucial the two are two Tottenham’s fortunes. In total, they have been directly involved in 59% of the total goals scored by Spurs this term in the Premier league and have played a huge hand in the Londoners’ rise to the third place in the league, ahead of bigwigs Manchester City and Arsenal.
Tottenham in recent years have emerged as a strong contender for the European spots and are now right up there with the best of the teams in England. And with their current form, they again look like giving Chelsea a run for their money in the title race. Both Alli and Kane signed new contracts recently extending their stay by 6 more years and have expressed their desire to stay at the White Hart Lane for a long period.
The players are happy and do not want to leave, both are tied down with long-term deals, meaning Spurs are in no pressure whatsoever to sell their star duo. With both Kane and Alli in their early 20’s, their stock will keep going upwards and they are undoubtedly bound for bigger and better things. And Tottenham needs to make sure that the duo achieves those heights at the White Hart Lane and in turn, lead the club into a new era that promises great amounts of success.