Harry The Be(a)st! – Why The Tottenham Hitman Is The Best Striker In England
Harry Kane continued his red-hot form in front of goal with a hat-trick, as Tottenham recorded a 3-0 win away at APOEL on Tuesday in their second Champions League group-stage game. The 24-year-old’s treble – his 9th for the club overall and 6th in 2017, took his tally to 11 for club and country in September – a ridiculous run that adds value knowing that he struggled through a parched spell in August.
Last season, Kane was making his Champions League debut as Spurs lost at home to Monaco. Their adventurous European nights ended in the group stages with shock elimination and no headline moment from their talismanic striker Kane, although he missed three games through injury. Months earlier, England couldn’t achieve anything significant at the international stage in the Euros in France, and Kane went missing.
Fast-forward 12 months, Kane made the headlines against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley. Two goals in a crucial victory gave Spurs a real chance of putting last season’s Champions League anguish behind them, and qualifying for the last 16.
There was no doubt why Kane couldn’t do it on bigger stages, having scored so many vital goals against Premier League’s top clubs. But without the huge Champions League goals, there is always an aura of uncertainty hovering inside the player’s mind, as well as among his detractors. With a fantastic brace against Dortmund and after earning the match-ball against APOEL, Kane has surely wiped out the tiniest of doubts.
After Kane scored his 100th goal for the club against Everton in August, Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino compared him to Argentine legend and his former team-mate Gabriel Batistuta. But following his dazzling display at APOEL, Pochettino didn’t shy away from comparing Kane to Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is fantastic, one of the best. But Harry is one of the best and maybe better because he is younger. All the strikers who are at this level have something special. They are killers. Harry has this special skill,” said Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino .
The comparison is valid not in terms of style, but indeed when it comes to substance. Madrid can prosper without their talisman, but there is no question that they are a deadly team when Ronaldo is fit and running.
The same goes for Kane, who was once touted as a one-season wonder, and has now managed 20 or more Premier League goals in three successive campaigns. With Champions League goals under his belt this season, his reputation is travelling far, over land and sea, and getting secured.
At 24, Kane is no longer just an English product or a player in development. In fact, he has scored 103 times in 171 appearances for Spurs and has held the league’s Golden Boot for two seasons running now.
From Gary Linekar to Alan Shearer to Wayne Rooney, England, as a country, throughout the years, have managed to develop some of the best strikers in the world. However, they aren’t always acknowledged much because England have constantly failed to do anything noteworthy on the international stage.
Kane is an all-rounder who does all of the graft Rooney was once praised for, while still ensuring that his goals record stands up against the likes of Lineker and Shearer. The Spurs forward is a vital cog to Pochettino’s style and system, and does a number of different roles. Yet, he is still consistent when it comes to goal-scoring.
In his three full seasons with Spurs, he’s scored 30 or more twice, and in the one other season, he bagged 28 in all competitions. The fact that he is outnumbering fellow English strikers consistently and rapidly marching on towards becoming Europe’s finest at his age are a testimony of his top class potential.
The names of Sergio Aguero, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez instantly come on people’s lips whenever there is a discussion of top strikers in the Premier League. Lukaku is a brute force, while Aguero possesses more quality in finishing. Alexis Sanchez, meanwhile, is a creative machine blessed with speed.
Being an all-rounder, Kane scores headers, long-range scorchers, tap-ins, penalties. He scores them all. He may not be the quickest of strikers but his goal-scoring prowess, his athleticism, composure and awareness around the goal compensate for a lack of blistering pace.
Over the last couple of years, Kane has emerged as the finest striker who fits the bill perfectly for Spurs. He is currently the best English striker in the Premier League; easily a country mile ahead of the likes of Jamie Vardy, Daniel Sturridge, Jermain Defoe and Wayne Rooney.
For Kane and Spurs, the sky is the limit. He is loved religiously by Spurs fans, with him being one of their own. Well, it’s high-time Spurs become a trophy-winning club to keep the genius of Kane in their grasp.