Pundit and former player Carlton Palmer has recently talked about how Harry Kane’s role in the Tottenham team will change once Gareth Bale gains his full fitness at the club.
Palmer was recently talking exclusively to This is Futbol and discussed Kane’s role at Spurs and how Bale’s return to fitness can impact how the English striker is currently playing under Jose Mourinho.
Should Harry Kane revert to being a proper centre-forward?
Yes
No
He said: “I think when Gareth Bale is back to full fitness, you’ll see more of Harry Kane in the box. And you’ll see him scoring more goals. But the way that they have this fluidity – allowing him to come off – allows the midfield runners to go through.
“[It is] very hard to deal with as central defenders, when that happens.”
Kane is currently the highest assister in the Premier League as well as the second-highest-rated player in the division (as per WhoScored).
The Englishman has been playing in a much deeper role this season and hasn’t exactly been playing in the out-and-out striker positions throughout games (as per Optus Sport).
While playing deeper, he has generated the highest Expected Assists per 90 minutes tally (out of players with at least nine appearances) in the Premier League. After Jamie Vardy, he has contributed to the most number of goals per 90 minutes in the division, too (as per FBref).
Perhaps this is a reflection of the fact that the current role suits Kane quite a bit and he’s contributing a fair amount to the side as well. Because of that, using him in that role itself would make more sense for Spurs and Mourinho, who should make sure that Bale’s return to the side doesn’t impact Kane’s output and positioning on the pitch.
However, Palmer clearly does not think that a resurgent Bale will result in negatively impacting Kane’s output for league leaders Spurs.