Tottenham striker Harry Kane is as lethal and prolific as all-time great Gabriel Batistuta, but he's no brute

  • Tottenham hitman Harry Kane is comparable to all-time great Gabriel Bastituta
  • As a predator in front of goal Kane is very much like the former Fiorentina striker
  • They both have immense shooting power and a devastating ability to win games
  • But Kane isn't as physical and doesn't get drawn into battles with defenders

Harry Kane is like Gabriel Batistuta in two respects: immense shooting power and a devastating ability to win matches.

I locked horns with Batistuta in 1999 when Arsenal played Fiorentina at Wembley in the Champions League. He was one of the best strikers I faced.

Like Kane, Batistuta could score goals from almost any position. Give him an inch of space and he would punish you.

Harry Kane is like Gabriel Batistuta in some respects but where they differ is in their physicality

Harry Kane is like Gabriel Batistuta in some respects but where they differ is in their physicality

Batistuta struck the winner for Fiorentina in the Champions League against Arsenal at Wembley in 1999
He scored 296 career goals, mostly coming in Serie A for Fiorentina and Roma

Both Kane and Batistuta can score from any angle and they have immense shooting power

He struck the winner that night at Wembley, darting into the box before rifling an unstoppable shot across David Seaman into the top corner from the tightest of angles.


Kane said he did not mean his cross-shot against Everton but Mauricio Pochettino will have been reminded of his former Argentina team-mate’s ability to conjure something from nothing.

Where they differ is in their physicality. I enjoyed the rough-and-tumble of battling Batistuta. He was more like Diego Costa than Kane. If you nailed him in a challenge, you knew he was going to get you back. While Kane is not lacking physically, he does not get drawn into those personal battles.

But as lethal predators, the similarities between the two are uncanny.

Kane scored his 100th and 101st Premier League goal in the 3-0 win over Everton on Saturday

Kane scored his 100th and 101st Premier League goal in the 3-0 win over Everton on Saturday

He is a slightly different player to Bastituta, but as lethal predators the two are very similar

He is a slightly different player to Bastituta, but as lethal predators the two are very similar