Tottenham striker Harry Kane on where he will put all his match-balls and excitement at first Bernabeu trip

Harry Kane
Harry Kane has scored six hat-tricks this year

After a sixth hat-trick in 2017 alone, Harry Kane was already thinking about the practicalities of all these match-balls before he had even boarded the Tottenham team-bus last night in Nicosia.

“At the moment they’re at home, I’m hoping to build a room for them, the trophies and balls,” he said. “It isn’t built yet but hopefully it will be soon. They’re just in the bags, in the cupboards, waiting to be put up.”

Wayne Rooney has one such room in his home and, while even Manchester United and England’s record scorer never had a sustained run of goals to match Kane’s current streak, there is also the silverware to match. “I’ll text him and ask him about it,” said Kane.

With 39 goals now in 34 matches in 2017, including 11 just during the month of September, Kane has never felt more confident but also knows that real tests for Tottenham are to come. This group of players is still waiting for its first trophy but faces what is surely the ultimate test of its progress against Madrid in three weeks. 

“It’s always great to play the best in the world,” said Kane. “They have one of the best defences with Sergio Ramos, Marcelo and players like that. I want to test myself against the best and they have been the best the last few years without a doubt. It is going to be exciting – I have never been to the Bernabeu.

Harry Kane
Kane has scored 39 goals in 34 matches in 2017

“We feel we can beat anyone on our day. Of course we know it will be tough but two good teams, an open game probably. It will probably come down again to who is more clinical in the final third, hopefully that can be us. We are going there to win, not just to get a result.”

Kane says that he is “a fan” of Cristiano Ronaldo and, while it was stressed by Mauricio Pochettino that they are two very different players, he described them both as “killers” in front of goal.

The hat-trick against Apoel Nicosia came from what were really a series of half-chances that were made to look frighteningly simple.

“It’s not easy but as a striker I’m confident,” said Kane. “It’s part of being a bit more mature. The more I play, the more I get a sense of what defenders will do at certain times. As you get older and wiser things come naturally. I was pleased with the finishing and hopefully I can take it into the games ahead.”

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