10 is the loneliest number for Tottenham with Kane team’s only striker

Whereas every other position room at Tottenham Hotspur has multiple senior players backed further by youth, striker continues to be all about one man for the Spurs.

Harry Kane is without a doubt one of the best strikers in the world. One of a dying breed in terms of being an out-and-out striker, Kane can do it all. As a player who often drops deep and creates for the club, he is often in the #10 role. However, as the only senior #9 on the Spurs, their player #10 Harry Kane is certainly the loneliest Tottenham Hotspur.

Lacking cover for Kane is nothing new

Since Kane broke onto the scene and he replaced Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado in the Tottenham attack, the team has struggled to find a second striker to play with Harry Kane. Certainly, there was some success with Fernando Llorente in his time with the club.

Llorente did his part in covering for Kane, particularly during the Champions League run of 2019, when Harry was injured. However, Llorente and Kane rarely if ever played together and it was not really part of the plan.

Last season Carlos Vinicius looked like a solid backup and had shown promise in playing in a second striker. However, outside of his goals in non-league matches, there were few times when Vinicius and Kane partnered for success. Vinicius never really broke through beyond the odd outing and the team is back without a true backup this season.

Son and Scarlett give Tottenham some cover

In reality, the first backup for Harry Kane is Heung-Min Son as we saw in the first two weeks of the season.  Son is a world-class footballer and has shown he has the ability to lead the line although like Ronaldo he is a bit better playing wide of the goal to start.

The problem with Son as the primary backup option is that he already has a first-team job on the wing. Although the depth available to the Spurs on the wing does make the idea of Son moving up-top for a time more feasible for the team.

After Son, the top option is 17-year-old Dane Scarlett. The teenager was on the bench for the first two matches as the primary backup for Son. However, with Kane back against Watford, Scarlett was dropped from the side.

Like Carlos Vinicius last season, Scarlett is largely going to have to rely on the non-league competitions for minutes and opportunities. However, at seven years Vinicius’ junior any opportunities for Scarlett are good opportunities.

Kane is still the main weapon for Spurs

Ultimately, like almost every year for the last half-decade, the success or not of the campaign is going to largely depend on Harry Kane. If Kane scores 20 or more goals in the league and 30+ in all competitions, it is highly likely that Tottenham will have a good season.

Further, we should all keep an eye on Kane’s assist numbers as he continues to grow his role beyond just a goalscorer to playmaker. Kane’s ability to drop deep and still play a role in the box causes real problems for defenders as they either create space by following the Spurs striker up the pitch or allow Kane a lot of room to pick out the best passes.

Assuming Kane can stay healthy, he should have another big year for Tottenham, if not as in years past the lack of cover will bite the team in the butt and will likely derail the season.