Harry Kane is slowly firing himself into the elite with Ronaldo and Messi… but do Tottenham have his same ambitions
England striker passed 100 goals for his club last week and bagged a brace against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League win at Wembley on Wednesday
TOTTENHAM striker Harry Kane has asked himself some serious questions this week.
The Premier League’s Golden Boot winner for the past two seasons admitted he needed to produce the goods in the Champions League before he could genuinely be considered “world-class” and up there with the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
It was another admirable acknowledgement from a remarkably honest young player in an era when two goals for your pub team on a Sunday morning over Hackney Marshes could quite easily earn you a valuation of £1million in today’s transfer market.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has described Kane as “world class” on many occasions – but then he is hardly going to say his star striker is not, is he?
Anybody who knows football would tell you that claim is premature.
Kane is good, great even. The best centre-forward in England and maybe of his type in Europe. But as good as Messi, Ronaldo et al? Hmmmm.
That was the hot topic of debate going into Tottenham’s Champions League opener against Borussia Dortmund.
And Kane gave us the answer as he battered the Dortmund defence, scoring two goals and setting up the other in Spurs’ superb 3-1 win at Wembley.
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For the first time he showed if he carries on performing like that then it will not be too long before he is ranked in the same highest echelon as his two aforementioned La Liga superstar rivals.
But after Kane showed he has what it takes to potentially be named among the best on the planet, the big debate on the horizon will soon inevitably be: Do Tottenham?
For after Wednesday’s win over Dortmund it seems the only thing stopping Kane from ruling the world with Spurs is….er, Spurs.
I am not doubting the Chingford hero’s love for his club for one minute.
But to be considered a “world class” star you have to win trophies.
And I am not referring to cups, as welcome as they would be, but titles and crowns.
Could he do that with Tottenham?
The reality is Gareth Bale probably never played any better for Real Madrid than he did during his last two or three sensational seasons for Tottenham.
But the Welsh wonder was never going to be considered “world class” at Spurs because he never won anything with them.
He only earned that mantle after he moved to Real Madrid and started picking up La Liga and Champions League winners’ medals.
Now he is viewed as one of the world’s best despite playing for Wales.
The same will apply to Kane.
If he wants to be considered one of the best in the world he will have to play and win things with a club that considered likewise.
Or else he will remain merely a club or an England great. An Alan Shearer or a Glenn Hoddle.
With an outstanding manager in Mauricio Poechettino, one of the most talented young squads in Europe and a new stadium on the way, there is no reason why Kane could not rule the world with Tottenham.
It is just a question of whether the club want to match his talent and potential with their spending and ambition.
Daniel Levy, it’s over to you.
After last night’s shambolic scenes at the Emirates, UEFA are set to charge Cologne with Trying To Create An Atmosphere.
It will never stick – after all it is not the first time we have seen lots of dodgy Cologne turn up along Oxford Street and the Holloway Road.
Gooners will undoubtedly give me pelters, claiming that the sight on their patch of some big f**king Germans - who were not injured and did not try to claim offside every time the ball went over the halfway line - was no laughing matter. And in fairness they might be right.
The lack of security and foresight at what will soon be the second largest football stadium in North London had potentially serious consequences and raised plenty of issues, which I am sure football’s bigwigs will debate long and hard in the coming weeks.
