Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Gary Mabbutt has been sharing his thoughts on Harry Kane and his career so far.
Speaking exclusively to This Is Futbol, Mabbutt had this to say on the current Spurs and England striker in terms of how the 27-year-old is ‘growing in stature’ for the north London club.
He said: “When Harry first joined us, he had the potential, but he was being put out on loan, he’d been brought back, put into a Europa League game, wouldn’t happen for him. Went on loan again, come back, put into a League Cup game, wouldn’t happen for him.
“And then suddenly he got the opportunity, and when people started showing confidence in him – and certainly Mauricio Pochettino, I think was the one that really instilled that confidence – the growing in stature of Harry was immense.
“I’ve been very fortunate during my career, I’ve played alongside finishers like Steve Archibald, Clive Allen, Gary Lineker, Teddy Sheringham, Jurgen Klinsmann, David Ginola, I’ve seen some great finishers – but watching him in training, he is up there with those players, and he is one of the best.
“Now he’s grown in that confidence, he’s got that stature about him. He’s now able to command areas, he’s able to dictate to players, he’s able to create opportunities and score goals, his assists this season have been outstanding, and as I said, that growing in stature from [being] England captain with England and for Spurs, he now has a massive role to play at the club, if we are going to have success.”
As a product of the Spurs youth academy, Kane made his senior debut for the north London club back in 2011 under former Lilywhites manager Harry Redknapp.
Overall, the Englishman, who is currently valued at £108 million, has made 301 appearances for Jose Mourinho’s side across all competitions in which he has managed to score an impressive 201 goals along the way (per Transfermarkt).
Is Harry Kane Spurs' best ever player?
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For England, Kane made his senior international debut back in 2015 and has since gone on to make 51 appearances for his country, in which he has bagged 32 goals.
Taking into account just how many goals Kane has scored for club and country in recent years, it’s hard to disagree with Mabbutt’s comments that the Englishman is a significant figure for both Spurs and England in terms of any potential success they have with him in the team.
However, with Kane having had his fair share of injuries in the past, it would be unfortunate if he had to miss any more games in his career that could stop him scoring goals in the future.