Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has urged Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino to start striker Harry Kane against Liverpool in the Champions League final on Saturday.
The England captain’s chances of starting against Jurgen Klopp’s team remain up in the air heading into the showpiece event, but Keown believes he must play from the beginning.
“You don’t get two chances in a final so he [Pochettino] has to get it right,” he wrote in his column for the Daily Mail. “The big question is, does he start Harry Kane? I think he does. Kane is their king. He leads from the front and everyone else follows.
“Lucas Moura was magnificent against Ajax but it might be that he misses out. Ruthless decisions have to be made.”
OPINION
This Kane decision is a really difficult one for Pochettino. Obviously if Kane were fully fit he would be an automatic starter, that goes without saying, but none of us really know what sort of shape he is in. If he’s close to 100% then you probably have to start him, but it’s hard to see how he could be after the time he’s been out and the fact that he hasn’t played any football in preparation for this game. If he does start then Moura would be the obvious candidate to miss out, but that would be incredibly harsh on the Brazilian after he scored the hat-trick to send Spurs to the final. Why does nobody seem to be advocating for Dele Alli to drop out for Kane, though? The England international has had a poor season by his standards and hasn’t looked fully fit himself of late. He’s an important link between midfield and attack, but why not drop him for Kane? No? Just me? OK then.