What’s going wrong for Harry Kane?
After the summer saga of Harry Kane’s future was finally put to bed it was almost assumed that the England skipper would return to his usual prolific goalscoring form, but this has been far from the reality.
After 3 appearances in the premier league Kane is still goalless. On paper this is not too worrying, although when taking a closer look into the nature of his performances alarm bells should be ringing.
Kane’s latest outing came against Crystal Palace, a side which he usually relishes playing, with 12 goal contributions in his previous 14 games against the Eagles. But last Saturday saw a dismal performance compared to his high standards, particularly when it comes to London derby’s.
Kane Failed to register a single touch in the opposition’s box, which is practically unheard of for a striker of his prestige. The forwards lack of pace and agility was evident throughout as he was easily marshalled by the Palace defence. Perhaps Kane’s poor performance was also the fault of the new tactics implemented by Nuno Esperito Santo?
Nuno tends to rely on a pragmatic brand of football, allowing the opposition to retain possession whilst remaining compact in the defensive third. In fact, Tottenham have had an average of 39% possession in the premier league this season. When the ball is regained Nuno’s teams rely on direct running and pace to hurt their opponents on the counter-attack.
Unfortunately, Harry Kane does not possess these attributes, leaving him in no-man’s land. From his deep starting positions the Spurs number 10 is unable to keep up with his pacey teammates, preventing him from having the same effect he has demonstrated under previous regimes.
Another explanation for Kane’s loss of form could simply be a lack of motivation having seemingly been so close to leaving Spurs during the summer. Countless footballers have downtooled after being prevented from a desired transfer, a recent example for Spurs came in 2019 with Christian Eriksen.
Despite the perception of Kane being a model professional, if his hunger and passion to perform in a Tottenham shirt is no longer there, it may be difficult to see him recreate the same goalscoring form that gained him so much prominence in the premier league.
There is no doubt that Harry Kane has started the 2021-22 season poorly, but it is still far too early to write him off. His partnership with Heung Min Son has been a major reason for his success, combining for 14 goals last campaign, a premier league record.
With Son currently injured Kane has not had the same level of quality to feed off. The return of his South Korean partner in crime could be a catalyst for Kane to flourish under Nuno.
It is almost a given that goals will be in plentiful supply for Harry Kane no matter where he plays. However, without drive to play for spurs and artillery around him, it is unrealistic to expect the England skipper to produce the same emphatic numbers we are used to seeing.
Daniel Levy is known as one of football’s shrewdest operators, but he may have made a major error in keeping hold of Harry Kane. If the Spurs striker cannot keep up his goalscoring prowess, Tottenham could take a major hit on Kane’s valuation when he inevitably moves on.