An interesting debate has emerged as to whether Tottenham ace Harry Kane is in the same bracket as Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema.
BBC pundits Gary Lineker and Ian Wright were raving about the Spurs star following his heroics on the final day of the season.
Kane, 23, scored a hat-trick in a 7-1 demolition of Hull to seal the Premier League’s golden boot and ended the campaign in fine style.
Wright stated that he feels Kane is on the same level as European heavyweight Benzema, while host Lineker went one further by claiming he is even better.
“When you can give that kind of return like he has done for the last three seasons, remember even last season people were saying they are still not sure about him,” Wright told BBC’s Match of the Day on 21 May. “I believe he is as good as [Karim] Benzema, I genuinely believe that.”
Ex-Spurs forward Lineker interrupted to state “he (Kane) might be even better,’ before reaching the emphatic verdict that he is the top striker.
Here, This Is Futbol compares the two goal machines to see how they stack up against each other.
Kane is fast becoming one of the deadliest strikers in European football and is proving that he is no one season wonder, scoring 20-plus league goals in the Premier League for the last three consecutive campaign.
The England international has reached new heights this year by scoring a staggering 35 goals in 38 appearances across all competitions and is thriving under manager Mauricio Pochettino.
He is being tipped to be the future of the national side and even being mentioned to break Alan Shearer’s 260-goal record in the English top flight.
In comparison, Madrid forward Benzema has netted 19 times in 47 appearances this campaign and has a far less prolific record in front of goal.
The 29-year-old does not always complete 90 minutes in a competitive Madrid squad and is on course for his lowest goal return in a season since the 2009/10 campaign at the Bernabeu.
However, that statistic alone shows his durability for the recently crowned La Liga champions and what an underrated member of the Madrid outfit he is.
Benzema has scored a staggering 181 goals for the Spanish giants following his Galactico move from Lyon and could still finish the season with a domestic and European double.
The forward has never come across as the most mobile player, but is blessed with phenomenal shooting accuracy and has carved out a staggering career so far.
Kane’s statistics this year show that he is right up their with any forward in the world and it’s feasible that on current form he is ahead of the Madrid ace.
However, Spurs’ talisman needs to continue his prolific form for many years to come to emulate Benzema, who is still undoubtedly one of the best in the business.