Tottenham: Harry Kane Is Deserving Of An England Call Up
By Logan Holmes
Harry Kane, the young Tottenham Hotspur striker, is thoroughly deserving of an international call up by England, with his goals against Arsenal in Saturday’s north London derby at White Hart Lane further strengthening his case for selection.
What a season Harry Kane is having for Spurs. The two goals he scored in the second half of their 2 – 1 victory over Arsenal brought his total for the season to 22, with 12 of them coming in the Premier League.
As a Spurs fan, I have followed Kane’s progress through the Tottenham Academy. At first, there was only a mention on the club website of the goals he had scored for the Spurs junior team’s success but the regularity of his strikes kept his name to the forefront of fans’ minds.
In January, 2011 at the age of 17, Kane went on loan at Leyton Orient which brought him further attention, with his hard-working performances as he scored 5 goals in League 1.
Harry Kane: Confident Young Player
It was in August, 2011, that Kane was given his first opportunity in the senior team. The Europa League game against Hearts at White Hart Lane was a dead rubber with Spurs 5 goals ahead from the first leg. Harry Redknapp used 6 young players in that game with Kane making his debut. Although the match ended scoreless, Kane who had only turned 18 years of age, outplayed and outshone his experienced, international strike partner, Roman Pavlyuchenko. After half an hour, Kane won a penalty for Spurs when he was brought down by the goalkeeper. Not lacking in self-confidence, he stepped up to take the spot kick but the Hearts keeper spoiled the moment and denied him a goal on debut by saving his strike on goal. For many a young player, that penalty miss would have been the end of a promising career but with Kane he has just kept on going.
Kane made 6 appearances in the Europa League that season and scored his first goal in the win over Shamrock Rovers in Dublin. He spent the second half of that season on loan at Millwall and again impressed with his had work and goalscoring achievements, 9 in 27 appearances in the Championship, to win the Millwall Young Player of the Year award.
At the start of the 2012-13 season, he made his Premier League debut as a late substitute in the game at Newcastle in Andre Villas-Boas first match as Tottenham manager. He was then allowed to go on loan to Norwich City in the Premier League but injury brought that to an early end and after recovering he spent the latter part of the season at Leicester City. His experience with Leicester was less successful but at every stage of his career, Harry Kane has stepped up to meet the challenge.
Back with Tottenham, last season, Kane played in the Europa League matches and domestic Cup ties and made occasional brief appearances in the league as a substitute. He was given his first Premier League start by Tim Sherwood towards the end of the season. He scored in that game at White Hart Lane against Sunderland and added further goals in the following games at West Bromwich Albion and at home to Fulham, holding his place in the team for the final 6 games of the season.
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This season, under new manager Mauricio Pochettino, Kane started in the European and Cup midweek team. He scored regularly, including a hat-trick against Asteras Tripolis of Greece at White Hart Lane. While the young striker was scoring in the midweek team, his more senior, international colleagues, Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado, were struggling to find the net in the Premier League. Eventually, Pochettino decided to turn to Kane. In November, he started the home game against Stoke City which Spurs lost but the following weekend, he scored as Tottenham came from behind to win at Hull City.
Kane has retained his position in the team and as results and performances have improved, Harry Kane has become a very important part of Tottenham’s progress and success. Initially, it was said by some that Kane hadn’t proved himself against the top teams but in Tottenham’s recent wins over London rivals, Chelsea and Arsenal, Kane has showed his worth with 4 goals in those two games. He troubled Chelsea early in the defeat at Stamford Bridge and ran Gary Cahill and John Terry ragged in the 5 – 3 win at the Lane.
Prior to the game at White Hart Lane, Arsenal hadn’t conceded a goal in three matches but they were found wanting by Kane. In the previous game at the Hawthorns, Kane also scored twice ending a brief barren run of 4 matches without a goal. He scored early and in the second half when a penalty was awarded to Spurs, he stepped up confidently to add the third goal even though he had missed the previous penalty he had taken which had allowed Andros Townsend to take over as the Tottenham penalty taker.
Kane For England?
Kane has represented England from Under-17 level up to the Under-21 team and his goals have helped the Under-21s secure qualification for the Finals in June. Before then, Roy Hodgson’s senior team have two internationals in March with expectations growing that Kane should be selected.
The young striker may not have the pace of other strikers already in the team but he is a totally committed player who has displayed in the Premier League and in European matches that along with his goals, he troubles defenders and is a constant threat to them. Against Benfica last season, their experienced central defenders struggled to cope with his powerful runs towards the penalty area. The game at White Hart Lane wasn’t Spurs or Kane’s best in terms of performance or result, losing 1 – 3, but it was Kane who was brought down enabling Christian Eriksen to score from a free-kick. In the match in Portugal, he set up Nacer Chadli’s second goal. Now, with regular appearances in the Premier League Kane has been able to prove his value to Tottenham and has just signed a new contract with the club.
Asked after the match about Kane, the Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, obviously referring to the fact that Kane qualifies to play for the the Republic of Ireland through his father, said,
"When you have scored the number of goals he has scored, if you don’t put him in there somebody else will give him a passport."
my idea is that he can improve still and we need to push him to develop his potential because his potential is massive
Mauricio Pochettino is delighted with Kane’s progress this season but he told the BBC Sport website that he is looking for the player to improve even further and develop his full potential.
Kane just takes each situation in his stride. Referring to the next England match, he said,
"It is not until March and there is a lot of football to play before then. I have just got to keep doing what I am doing and do my best for the team, and we will see what happens."
Roy Hodgson was at White Hart Lane and must have been impressed with Kane’s goals and his all round contribution to Tottenham’s deserved success which took them ahead of their north London neighbours.
Harry Kane for England, we’ll should know more in the coming weeks but so far, he’s done everything that’s been asked of him and deserves an opportunity to prove that he can once again step up and meet the challenge presented to him.