EVERY time Harry Kane and Son Heung-min tee each other up for yet another goal, Darren Anderton earns a little more respect in his new home of California.
For when Tottenham’s dynamic pair link up in the Premier League, the list of the division’s most deadly duos is often referenced on stateside telly.
Son and Kane lead the way on 43 combined goals, and reached 50 in all competitions with the Spurs’ opener in Wednesday’s helter-skelter 3-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.
Yet still standing strong in fifth place is Anderton and Teddy Sheringham, who served each other with 27 strikes in the 90s.
It serves as a timely reminder of just how good a player the former England wideman, now 50, was to the uninitiated in his new sunny surroundings.
Anderton told SunSport: “When those stats come up about Harry and Son, going through that top five of Premier League combinations for goals, it’s always very nice to watch.
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“People over here see that and say, ‘Oh my God, that’s incredible’.”
Best pals Anderton and Sheringham loved their time under the hell-for-leather tactics of Ossie Ardiles during the Argentine’s stint at White Hart Lane.
They were two parts of Ardiles’ ‘famous five’, also including Jurgen Klinsmann, Nick Barmby and Ilie Dumitrescu, which produced some delightfully chaotic matches that were high on entertainment if under-delivering on results.
Kane and Son did play for four years under the attacking Mauricio Pochettino.
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Yet their last three bosses of Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and current chief Antonio Conte all favour a more conservative approach.
And for that reason, Anderton is particularly impressed that Kane and Son have managed to reach a half-century.
He added: “The biggest compliment I can pay Harry and Son is that the managers they’ve had in the last couple of years have been pretty defensive.
“Mourinho, even Conte to a point, he wants the team to be set up to be difficult to beat and hit players on the counter attack.
“So the fact that they are still doing it within that is amazing.”
Asked if the pair would have even higher numbers if they were playing in an Ardiles-type system, Anderton replied: “They could well be.
“I’ve watched some of the games this year and thought, ‘Cor, this is a bit dull, isn’t it? God Almighty, come on, let’s get at them, let’s do this’.
“But even when that’s happening, you know at the back of their mind, something could and probably will happen. There’s going to be an opportunity, Harry or Son are going to nick a goal or have a chance. That’s just the quality they have.
“I think it would be frightening if they were playing in the old famous five with that football that Ossie had us playing. It would be very nice to be part of!”
Son and Kane’s understanding almost seems telepathic at times.
Spurs’ opening goal against Frankfurt was a prime example, with Kane teeing up Son with an instinctive, defence-splitting pass that the South Korean neatly tucked away.
Anderton and Sheringham had a similar relationship where verbal communication was barely needed.
While their great friendship off the pitch meant there was no jealousy between them, which is something Son has commented on himself about his own partnership with Kane.
Anderton explained: “Ted’s still my best mate in football. That definitely helps, no doubt about it.
“You want your mate to do well. When Teddy went to (Manchester) United, you’re desperate for him to do well. There wouldn’t be any jealousy.
“Teddy was very easy to play with and I knew what a clever footballer he was. His movement was so good. I knew if he was coming short, then he wanted it long. If he tended to run in behind, then he would come short.
“The relationship becomes natural. It just happens. You don’t even have to think about it.
“A lot of the time our communication literally was eye-contact.”
Anderton has been watching on from across the Pond with admiration for Spurs’ modern-day duo, whom he holds in the highest regard.
And he fully expects that fantasy football favourite social media update of ‘Goal: Kane; Assist: Son’ – or the other way around – to continue for a long time to come.
Anderton added: “Hary is such a team player that that’s why I think that works so well. Of course, Son is fantastic as well. He’s so forward-thinking, he’s so explosive, and Harry knows he’s going to make that run.
“Harry is the best No9/No10 in the world. He keeps scoring goals, keeps creating chances, tough as nails. He’s an absolute legend of the game.
“When you think about the talk of Harry leaving, going to a Real Madrid or a Barcelona, I’m surprised that those sort of clubs haven’t shown an interest, or maybe they have, in Sonny as well because I think he would run riot in either of those teams.
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“(Their tally) will definitely go a lot higher and it won’t be long until they hit 50 in the Premier League between them.
“I look forward to that happening and lots of happy days around the corner.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
