Harry Kane shows he’s just as explosive when in at the deep end for Tottenham with Champions League treble

Harry Kane has scored nine times in his last five matches, yet his display in the closing stages here suggests he can be just as effective playing further from the goal.

It sounds ridiculous. Surely Kane, undoubtedly one of the finest forwards in world football, is at his most dangerous in the penalty area?

Yet, while there are few better finishers than Kane, it is worth recalling the players he admired most as a young player: Teddy Sheringham and Robbie Keane.

Sheringham scored 124 goals in 277 games across two spells for Tottenham and Keane, who also had two stints at White Hart Lane, 122 in 306. Both men often did their best work in the space between the opposition’s defence and midfield, where they could escape tight marking and create chances for themselves and others.

Kane played the final 33 minutes of this Champions League encounter slightly deeper than substitute Fernando Llorente and his second and third goals arrived because he was able to move late into the ideal position.

With Llorente occupying the men who marked Kane in the first half, Kane was all alone to collect Moussa Sissoko’s cut-back for goal No2 and to head in Kieran Trippier’s cross for his hat-trick. Kane also helped set up the third goal as he found space in the centre and picked out Trippier on the right.

Kane is not new to the role. Although he played mainly as a centre-forward during his time in Tottenham’s younger sides and throughout his four loan spells — with Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich and Leicester - Kane always had the ability to play in the No10 position.

When Llorente was signed from Swansea on the final day of the summer transfer window, the assumption was that he would simply provide experienced back-up for Kane. But as long as the Spanish international can gain full fitness quickly, he can also release Kane to do damage elsewhere.

“Harry can score from outside the box, inside the box or after making late runs, as we saw against APOEL,” said Trippier. “He is exactly the sort of all-round striker you want in your team. You see on the training ground how professional he is and it is no surprise that he is in this sort of form. He is not only a goalscorer, either. He creates a lot of goals himself and works so hard for the team, which not many people might notice. That is why he is one of the best strikers in the world.”

Had Llorente been in peak condition, manager Mauricio Pochettino might have started the match with the 4-4-1-1 system that brought the final two goals, with Trippier at right-back (instead of left wing-back), Ben Davies at left-back and Kane and Llorente ahead of a four-man midfield.Although Tottenham rode their luck, they deserve credit for digging out a win with so many key players missing. With Jan Vertonghen, Dele Alli, Mousa Dembele, Christian Eriksen and Victor Wanyama unavailable, not to mention Danny Rose and Erik Lamela, it was reasonable to expect a few wobbles from Tottenham, on a dodgy pitch, against a team who had lost only one of their last 11 European home games, and in front of a boisterous crowd.

Ultimately, Tottenham won because APOEL’s centre-forward, Igor De Camargo, is not remotely in the same class as Kane and wasted opportunities where Kane accepted them. Pochettino is sufficiently smart to realise his defence can look vulnerable against quick, direct teams who play on the counter-attack, as APOEL did. If Stathis Aloneftis, a 34-year-old winger who has spent all but one season of his career in Cypriot football, can do this much damage against Tottenham, what about Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Isco — to name three — when they face holders Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on October 17? Spurs and Madrid top the group with six points apiece after two games.

Serge Aurier has shown some impressive qualities since joining Tottenham from Paris St Germain for £23million last month, though he made way for Llorente here after a confused display in which he was caught out of position more than once and was troubled by Aloneftis.

These are early days but the impression is that Aurier would be happier as an orthodox right-back, rather than as a wing-back, because he sometimes seems uncertain about where he should be when Tottenham do not have the ball.

When Spurs won 3-2 at West Ham last Saturday, Marko Arnautovic was frequently able to move into the space behind Aurier during the first half, before the Ivory Coast defender was sent off after the break.

While the red card means Aurier will miss Saturday’s League match at Huddersfield, Tottenham will welcome back Alli and Vertonghen after suspension, and Eriksen is also expected to recover from illness.

As long as they can keep Kane healthy, Pochettino will feel his team have a chance every time they play.