HARRY KANE proved his critics wrong when they branded him a one-season wonder.
Now he needs to show he is not a one-summer blunder by getting back on the Premier League goal trail for Tottenham.
The England captain infamously always used to have trouble scoring for his club in August.
Now he is in danger of extending his top-flight goal drought through September as we await his first strike of the campaign.
As he prepares to lead the line for Spurs in Sunday’s North London derby against Arsenal at the Emirates, his slow start to this season suggests he has been deeply affected by his failure to force through a move to Manchester City during the transfer window.
His exit strategy was an unmitigated disaster which having damaged FA golden boy Kane’s reputation, is now threatening to ruin his and Tottenham’s season.
Last term’s Golden Boot winner has simply not looked the same player in his four Prem appearances so far.
The star who wears the No10 shirt for Spurs has been playing like a false No9, hardly troubling the shoulder of the opposition’s last defender.
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In their 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea on Sunday he was playing so deep he almost ended up on the Victoria Line.
His smile that has been so commonplace in recent years seems to have disappeared and he looks to have the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The player credited with carrying Tottenham since he burst onto the scene in 2014 is now being carried himself.
Do not believe for one minute that he is not trying or has thrown in the towel, that is not his style.
He is still holding the ball up well and bringing team-mates into play with his trademark Teddy Sheringham-esque crossfield passes.
But at the moment, Kane is not contributing where it matters most, in the opposing penalty box.
His desire to get in there to finish off attacks he has started further downfield has not been what it was so far this term.
Of course, he could also be knackered after his summer exertions skippering England to the delayed Euro 2020 Finals.
Or maybe another trophyless season at Tottenham, their exhaustive search for a manager and their underwhelming appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo has just drained the life out of the frontman.
But many believe the speculation linking Kane with a move to City – which do not forget was all driven by himself – is the reason he is not performing to his own high standards.
He would not be human if every time he turned up at Tottenham he did not think ‘I could be at Manchester City now, challenging for honours under Pep Guardiola, one of the best coaches in the world’.
But Kane has to get his head around the fact he is still at a great club in Spurs and that he may never get to move to City or Manchester United or wherever, Ccertainly if he carries on playing like this.
KANE NEEDS TO FIND HIS FORM…FAST
As the old saying goes, form is temporary and class is permanent.
Nobody is expecting his current League drought to last forever, even if he has looked way off the pace so far.
Kane has proved his doubters wrong on countless occasions in the past, and you would back him to do so again.
But from his and Tottenham’s point of view, it needs to happen sooner rather than later.
And Sunday at the Emirates would be the perfect time to start.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
