Post World War Two, Harry Kane has become the youngest player to win the Premier League Golden Boot in back-to-back seasons, at 23 years of age.
Over the course of the past three seasons, he has scored 75 goals in the Premier League. That is five more goals than Sergio Aguero over the same amount of time, who is truly regarded as a world-class striker and is guaranteed to score goals on a consistent basis.
The England striker scored 29 Premier League goals in 30 games in 2016/17. He missed eight games through injury, which raises the question of how many goals he could have scored had he stayed fit all season.
In the past season, the Tottenham Hotspur striker has on average scored a goal every 87 minutes in the Premier League. Kane scored more goals than Middlesbrough, who scored 27 goals, and scored as many goals as Sunderland.
Singular trait
Apart from his significant goalscoring contributions, the Tottenham man does not have a singular attribute which stands out, or at least an attribute which stands out to the naked eye.
The particular trait which in reality sets him apart from many strikers is that he thinks differently. His ability to figure out the most effective and quick way to score a goal, along with his great sense of positioning, is very impressive.
He captained England in the recent 2-2 World Cup qualifier draw with Scotland at Hampden Park, in which he scored an injury time equaliser to rescue England.
This took his England tally to six goals in eighteen caps.
Breaking records
The striker has already overhauled former Manchester United striker Eric Cantona’s Premier League goal tally, who is regarded as a legend amongst Manchester United fans and is perceived as one of the key players who transformed the football club into the giant they are today.
If Kane stays consistent with the form he has produced over the past three seasons, in the upcoming season he will overtake Chelsea legend Didier Drogba’s goal tally too.
He is the fourth player to win back-to-back Golden Boot awards after Thierry Henry, Robin Van Persie and Alan Shearer, albeit at a much younger age than the aforementioned at 23 years old.
However, if he stays consistent, in 2018 he can already become a member of the 100 Premier League goals scored club.
If he achieves such a goalscoring feat, and also produces similar form for England, then the striker can be well on his way to being classed as world-class, which he already is being referred to as by many.
Kane vs Rooney
Too much pressure this early can be his downfall, such as the comparisons to Rooney.
However, the key thing for the striker to remember is to focus on his football and not become another Wayne Rooney, who perhaps was too good at a very young age, and set such high standards too early which became difficult to match on a consistent basis throughout the course of his career.
Although Rooney has an unbelievable record of achievement, which includes being England’s all-time leading goalscorer, there still seems to be that feeling of what could have been due to the unbelievable standards set early in the striker’s career.
Rooney has not produced a stand-out performance in the Champions League to take Manchester United to glory, and has not delivered for England since Euro 2004.
It seems that too much pressure was placed on Rooney due to the high standards set early, and questions of whether there could have been even more linger over such a great player’s career.
Equally, due to Tottenham’s poor performances in the Champions League, it has been difficult for Kane to leave an impression in the competition.
For England, he recently captained England at 23 years old in a World Cup qualifier and scored to rescue a point for his country.
However, such contributions for country must continue, as well as improved performances for Tottenham in the Champions League and continued consistency in his goalscoring feats in the Premier League, so that this England striker’s career also does not become overshadowed by the thought of ‘what could have been’.
Possesses all the ingredients to become world-class
The Tottenham hero has made a very impressive start to his career and has all the ingredients to become truly world-class and break goalscoring records in the Premier League.
However, after such an exciting start to his career, he must now stay focused and not let the pressure of leading club and country get to him.
There is already great pressure on the striker, with Match of the Day pundit and former Tottenham striker Gary Lineker claiming that Kane ‘is better’ than Real Madrid star Karim Benzema.
If Kane can maintain focus and carry on progressing, he can truly become a star in world football. It is all up to him now.
Written by Sina Latif
Follow Sina on Twitter @_sina93
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