Is Harry Kane having his best season in years?
The FIFA World Cup was not the most successful for Harry Kane as he missed the decisive penalty kick that ultimately sent England home from Qatar. However, back at Tottenham Hotspur, he has picked up from where he left off in terms of his early season form and looks to be in with a strong chance of recording the highest Premier League goal tally of his career so far.
The bright spark in an underperforming team
Kane had scored 15 goals at the halfway point of the season with 19 games played, which is just shy of the 17 he recorded in the entirety of the previous season. Despite Kane's strong form in front of goal, Spurs have not been particularly impressive this season as results have been inconsistent and a loss at home to Arsenal in the North London Derby was the most damaging. In the Premier League odds from Paddy Power Spurs are now seen as outsiders to finish in the top four at odds of 16/5. Newcastle are now favoured to claim the fourth spot this season in the Premier League betting tips as Eddie Howe has combined a mean defence with a cohesive attacking style to create a formidable unit.
Kane scored at least 25 league goals in each of the seasons between 2015 and 2018 but has failed to reach that amount since, although this season that looks likely to change. In terms of the assist numbers, Kane had a single contribution to his name after 19 games played. His regular partner in front of the goal, Heung-Min Son has been in poor form this season having scored just four goals after 17 games. It could be argued that this version of Kane is the greatest that football has seen considering the fact he is excelling at a time when Son is not firing, and there is huge pressure on the England captain to provide most of the goals for Spurs.
Did World Cup woes provide extra motivation?
Kane returned from the World Cup in strong form on the pitch. Against Brentford, on Boxing Day he scored a crucial goal that earned Spurs an unlikely point following a late comeback. A few days into the new year he spearheaded a second-half assault on Crystal Palace, as he netted twice in a four-goal away win, as covered by Sporf. Kane also found the net via a long-range effort against Portsmouth in the FA Cup.
Perhaps Kane and the Three Lions' shortcomings at the FIFA World Cup have motivated the Spurs legend to unleash a further improved version of himself. He has been key for Spurs in every area of the pitch. Kane has had to be an important part of the build-up stage of Spurs' play while also being the main candidate to finish the opportunities. He has been one of the strongest performers across Europe while playing in a side that is vastly underperforming in all areas.
This is arguably the toughest period Kane has had to endure in terms of the variables up against him on the pitch. Spurs as a team lack crucial investment in the transfer market currently, but most vitally Son is in his worst form in several years, yet Kane is still operating at a world-class level. If Spurs are to achieve any success of note this season then he will undoubtedly play a starring role. This is the best version of Kane that we have seen in the last four years at least.
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