Harry Kane must have been delighted with his first ever hat-trick for Tottenham, after their 5-1 demolition of Asteras Tripolis in the Europa league. However, Kane may have been disappointed with his goalkeeping skills.
Tottenham’s current top European goalscorer, Harry Kane, will undoubtedly be knocking on the first team door after countless good performances. The question posed is whether or not Kane should become the first striker on the teamsheet. He has been playing some good football, scoring goals and proving himself, especially in European matches. Does his hattrick, therefore, warrant Kane a start in the Premier League?
Firstly, there are two other senior, vastly more experienced strikers who will be replaced by Kane in the starting line-up. Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor are not going to like being benched by such a comparatively inexperienced player. It will be more than likely that one of the two experienced strikers would partner Kane up front, but this still means one striker is left out. However, this may not be a problem. That one striker will be on the bench and would be a very useful impact sub. But should that be where Kane belongs? Based on form, perhaps not. Adebayor and Soldado haven’t exactly been scoring for fun lately, but Harry Kane has.
Secondly, the quality of the opposition must be considered. Honestly, who’d heard of Asteras Tripolis before Tottenham played them? Perhaps a few football boffins, but generally Asteras are an unknown team. The scoreline says it all: 5-1. The goal Tottenham conceded was a Sunday League-style howler from none other than Harry Kane himself. Sure, he scored a hat-trick and in many other European games he has scored too, but the teams he scores against aren’t Premier League quality. However, goals are goals. Looking at highlights of his games, there have been a few tap ins and ‘easy’ goals, but there have been some fantastic finishes from outside the box too. This suggests Kane does have the quality and the potential to start in the Premier League.
So, perhaps the Englishman will start in the Premier League for Spurs in a few seasons’ time. He has shown himself worthy of starting in Europe, but he is yet to prove himself in the Premier League. Is it really fair to bench Soldado or Adebayor for Kane? Why not utilise him as an impact sub? In the Harry Redknapp days, Jermain Defoe performed a similar role and it could be argued had more of an effect off the bench that starting a game. As a substitute, Kane can and will make an effect to Tottenham’s advantage.
Kane may not be quite ready yet, but does this mean Pochettino won’t give him a few chances in the league? Certainly not. Ryan Mason is a fantastic example of this. Last season Mason was unknown to most fans; a name on a squad list. This season completely changed that. Pochettino stuck his neck out and gave Mason a chance. The interesting thing with Mason is that he was given time in the Capital One Cup, facing an opponent around the same level as Asteras and when he performed well, grabbing his first goal for Spurs, Pochettino put all his faith behind him and started Mason in the North London Derby. So, this could quite easily happen again with Kane.
Harry Kane could be a good asset to Tottenham. With plenty of game time, under a manager who recognises the importance of the younger players, he could prove to be a key player in Tottenham’s future successes.
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