Harry Kane’s statistics have improved in Football Manager 18, but not by much

Gamers, rejoice! In case you missed it, the demo for Football Manager 2018 was released a few days ago, giving football fans and gamers a sneak peek at the new features in the new version of the game.

But as Tottenham Hotspur fans, what we’re most interested in is Harry Kane’s statistics. Specifically, just how good are they compared to last year?

Well, the good news is that Harry Kane is still an excellent striker in FM, as you’d expect. But if you were looking for Kane to get a huge bump in stats making him one of the best strikers in the game, well, the reality is that it’s a bit more modest.

Here’s Kane’s profile from the FM18 Beta.

Not bad! Kane’s best individual skill is his finishing, which is a pretty outstanding 18, but his other primary statistics are all on the mental side, with him boasting a Composure and Determination of 16, and Off the Ball rating of 15. He boasts pretty decent physical ratings as well, which you’d expect for a big lad who trains under Mauricio Pochettino.

As a Tottenham blogger I could quibble with a few of these stats. Kane’s a deceptively strong dude, and his Strength rating of 14 feels kind of low. And while he’s not fast, I think he’s a bit faster than the his Pace rating of 13. I also think his ability to effectively press in Poch’s system merits a higher Marking than 8. (On the other hand, his Flair rating of 8 feels pretty spot on.)

Oh, and he’s also valued at $77m (£58.6m), which is just laughably low and nowhere near the most expensive players in the beta -- that would be Neymar (€95m), Lionel Messi (€95m), Kevin De Bruyne (€87m), and Gareth Bale (€84m).

But how do Kane’s stats compare to last season?

Hmmm. Still very good, but overall not that different. And while a two point increase in Passing and Finishing is pretty darned good at this levell Kane has only a modest bump in a few overall statistics otherwise. Here are his stats that got bumped from last season to now:

TECHNICAL

• Crossing (+1)
• Finishing (+2)
• First Touch (+1)
• Long Shots (+1)
• Passing (+2)
• Penalty Taking (+1)
• Technique (+1)

MENTAL

• Composure (+1)

PHYSICAL

• Agility (+1)

How does he compare to his main Premier League rival for Golden Boot, Romelu Lukaku?

Kane’s got the edge on Lukaku in First Touch, Heading, and Long Shots, but somehow Lukaku starts the season an incredible Finishing of 19, one above Harry. Kane’s generally a notch or two better in the Mental abilities, but Lukaku being the specimen that he is is generally higher in the Physical stats. It’s worth noting that Kane starts the season with a Golden Boot rating of 2, two higher than Lukaku’s.

All of this is speculation and general fan service nonsense, but it’s fun to obsess over and argue about these stats, much like when the various FIFA cards come out. Do you agree with Kane’s FM18 stats? Nerd out in the comments.

The full version of Football Manager 18 will be released on November 10.