As Harry Kane trains his sights on records set by Tottenham legends such as Gary Lineker, it is hard to imagine he could have played for Arsenal.
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As Harry Kane trains his sights on records set by Tottenham legends such as Gary Lineker, it is hard to imagine he could have played for Arsenal; harder still to think he might have been a goalkeeper, or that Spurs nearly let him go.
Kane has 17 goals this season and is scoring at a rate that puts him on course to be the first Spurs player since Lineker, 23 years ago, to break the 30 barrier. His personal target was amended from 10 to 20 just before Christmas.
‘I always want to progress and hopefully I will do that this year,’ he shrugged with modesty after scoring two, setting up another and winning a penalty in a 5-3 win against Chelsea on Thursday.
More than his goals, his industry and infectious enthusiasm have lifted the club. Mauricio Pochettino has found a prolific striker who covers more than 13km per game and fans have a hero; one of their own, as they sing. Although it might have been different.
Arsenal were the first club to take Kane in when he and Brentford full back Nico Yennaris were spotted at the age of nine playing for Ridgeway Rovers, a junior club in Chingford, Essex, famed for producing David Beckham.
Former Ridgeway coach Dave Bricknell recalls first setting eyes on a young Kane, who also followed Beckham through Chingford Foundation School.
‘I thought I’d found myself the next Pat Jennings,’ said Bricknell, who now scouts for Spurs. ‘In the first training session, there was me and Harry Yennaris, Nico’s dad, putting a side together and I said, “Right, who can play in goal?”.
‘Harry went in and he was unbelievable, not that you’d have known if you saw him in goal for Spurs. Then someone told me he was a striker, so he came out and scored about four goals.’
In October, having already scored a hat-trick, Kane took over in goal when Hugo Lloris was sent off in the Europa League against Asteras Tripolis. He fumbled a free-kick into the net in the last minute, but Tottenham won 5-1 and the episode only enhanced his cult status.
At Arsenal, he sometimes trained with the goalkeepers, but they chose to let him go and he found his way back to Ridgeway Rovers, who also produced Tottenham’s Andros Townsend, Crystal Palace’s Dwight Gayle and Bournemouth’s Charlie Daniels.
‘He was a bit down after Arsenal let him go,’ said Ian Marshall, chairman of Ridgeway. ‘He took a bit of persuading to come back but some of his mates talked him into it and he scored quite a few goals.
‘Tottenham picked him up but then let him go and he found himself at Watford, where he played in a trial game against Spurs and scored two. That’s when Spurs realised they might have made a mistake and asked him to come back.
‘The rest is history. We don’t get anything financially. That’s the way it is at the grass roots. Even 0.1 per cent of Dwight Gayle’s transfer fee to Palace would keep us going for a year. But, as a club, we’re proud. Harry came back to present some prizes for us a couple of years ago. He’s a good, down-to-earth lad.’
This attitude shone through during his loan moves. It is four years this month since his senior debut on loan for Leyton Orient in front of 2,731 on a sodden pitch at Rochdale. He scored five in his first six games for Orient, before a red card slowed his progress.
There were nine goals for Millwall, but he broke a metatarsal at Norwich and Spurs aborted the one-year loan and sent him instead to Leicester, where he was used mostly as a substitute. At this point, 18 months ago, a top-flight career did not seem to beckon.
Most would have predicted a move into the lower leagues, but Tottenham, to their credit, have shown patience with talent like Townsend and Ryan Mason and both Pochettino and his predecessor Tim Sherwood, who knew Kane from the development teams, showed faith.
Kane responded by knuckling down, something those who know him attribute to parents Pat and Kim. He doesn’t drink, trains hard, is devoted to his career and his desire is shown by his surge past Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor.
Soldado cost £26million and had he scored the occasional goal, or had Adebayor not lost his focus, the chance might never have appeared for Kane. But he saw a glimmer and forced his way through, thriving under a manager forced to look beyond reputations.
At first, Pochettino used the 21-year-old mainly in cup competitions, then a little from the bench. A late winner as a substitute at Aston Villa was a significant step. Now, Kane simply has to start, either at centre forward or just behind.
As a boyhood Spurs fan, he idolised Teddy Sheringham and they have similarities. Like Sheringham, Kane has a great appreciation of the game and the movement of others, evident in his assist for Nacer Chadli against Chelsea.
He is strong, good in the air and able to influence the game. He has an instinct; a goal knack. It is not luck. He sees the ball early, which offers the illusion of magnetism when it arrives in his orbit, somewhere near the goal. Top up confidence levels and he will score goals like his second against Chelsea, rolled into the far corner coolly enough for Lineker to compare him to Thierry Henry.
It is impossible not to be heartened by the rise of Kane. Roy Hodgson will be watching closely, aware he is eligible for the Republic of Ireland through a grandfather and has been resisting their advances for some time.
He is determined to play for England. And Kane is one determined young man. Do not bet against it.– Daily Mail
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