Conte hopes he doesn’t have to cross this particular bridge at Tottenham

Is there a right time for Conte to drop Kane?

Kane has a single goal in 10 Premier League appearances, his lowest contribution at this point of any season. But it’s not just his lack of goals that is concerning for Conte, who requires a striker in prolific form to spearhead a Spurs’ revival.

Kane is a shadow of his best self. Laggard, slow and worryingly cumbersome in possession, Kane has become a liability, something I thought I’d never say about Tottenham’s legend. In fairness to the ace striker, he’s not getting a lot of support from his offensive colleagues. Kane registered Tottenham’s last shot on target, a 45th-minute header against West Ham on Oct. 24. Almost four hours of football has elapsed since that acrobatic Łukasz Fabiański save in east London.

So when is the right time to drop Kane from a Premier League encounter?

Hopefully a revitalized Kane returns to north London after the international break, rendering the question redundant. But if Kane struggles to impact proceedings in the next match and doesn’t register a shot, is the time right to drop the Tottenham legend?

Surely the thought has crossed Conte’s busy, overactive mind. And nobody would fault him for entertaining the possibility. Tottenham, other than a brief stint without Kane last season, have a decent record without their ace marksman. 

Would some time on the sideline put things into perspective for Kane and help rejuvenate his Tottenham career? It could go either way, as some players react positively to being dropped, while others become even more ostracized and alienated.

While transfer speculation surrounding Kane has calmed since the window closed, it will assuredly reignite if Conte decides to drop the player once perceived as undroppable. If Kane is unable to awake from his current coma, Conte might prefer to offload the Englishman in January, though that would depend entirely on how much his market value has decreased since the start of the campaign.

Conte knows precisely how important Kane is to Spurs’ success and will not take the decision to drop him lightly. Although it is a bridge the Italian gaffer might soon be forced to cross.