Harry Kane and Dave Shaw have plenty in common
Harry Kane will need those broad shoulders to handle the growing weight of expectancy for club and country.
Kane is a throwback to the bustling strikers of yesteryear packaged in a frame which also harnesses the technical excellence and razor-sharp instincts to flourish in the Premier League.
The 21-year-old’s stunning season for Spurs should lead to a first England international senior debut later this month in the Three Lions’ Euro2016 qualifier against Lithuania or, more likely, the friendly five days later in Italy.
But Kane’s progress to become the focal point of the Spurs’ attack and maybe in time his country’s figurehead has not been without struggle.
Mention Harry Kane to football followers of Norwich City and those with good memories will reply with two words, West Ham. Kane made five appearances in a loan stint interrupted by injury back in the 2012/13 top flight campaign under the guidance of Tottenham stalwart and then Canaries boss Chris Hughton. The blond frontman had made his Spurs’ top flight debut the previous month at Newcastle, but this was the youngster’s first real exposure to the rigours of the Premier League. Hughton blooded Kane straight away in the closing stages of a league game against the Hammers that appeared to be limping towards early season stalemate. The cool predator, the clinical forager found himself one-on-one with Jussi Jaaskelainen in stoppage time but dragged a first time shot on his left foot straight at the grounded Hammers’ keeper.
It was a golden chance for both the youngster and the Canaries. Kane remained a peripheral figure on the fringes of City’s first team before a broken foot injured in a League Cup tie eventually annulled the marriage.
But the striker has blossomed since after a further loan stint at Leicester and more goals in Tottenham’s development structure. The man terrorising Premier League defences now bears no resemblance to the callow teenager who fluffed his big line at Carrow Road.
It is a testament to Kane’s character and his progress that he is now an indispensable part of his boyhood club’s future. Wolston's own rising star striker, Dave Shaw, should use Kane as a role model. One Shot at Glory
Injury altered his upward mobility at Wolston but, like Kane, scoring goals for ‘his’ club remains within reach. The maturity of Kane’s performances now suggest it was arguably those testing formative experiences away from White Hart Lane which shaped the man plundering with such regularity. Very few youngsters earn a passage to the first team in the serene style of a Ryan Giggs or Raheem Sterling. Kane’s early career path is the norm for young professionals graduating through the academy system. But his stirring exploits this season have made him a poster boy for perseverance.
Kane is a throwback to the bustling strikers of yesteryear packaged in a frame which also harnesses the technical excellence and razor-sharp instincts to flourish in the Premier League.
The 21-year-old’s stunning season for Spurs should lead to a first England international senior debut later this month in the Three Lions’ Euro2016 qualifier against Lithuania or, more likely, the friendly five days later in Italy.
But Kane’s progress to become the focal point of the Spurs’ attack and maybe in time his country’s figurehead has not been without struggle.
Mention Harry Kane to football followers of Norwich City and those with good memories will reply with two words, West Ham. Kane made five appearances in a loan stint interrupted by injury back in the 2012/13 top flight campaign under the guidance of Tottenham stalwart and then Canaries boss Chris Hughton. The blond frontman had made his Spurs’ top flight debut the previous month at Newcastle, but this was the youngster’s first real exposure to the rigours of the Premier League. Hughton blooded Kane straight away in the closing stages of a league game against the Hammers that appeared to be limping towards early season stalemate. The cool predator, the clinical forager found himself one-on-one with Jussi Jaaskelainen in stoppage time but dragged a first time shot on his left foot straight at the grounded Hammers’ keeper.
It was a golden chance for both the youngster and the Canaries. Kane remained a peripheral figure on the fringes of City’s first team before a broken foot injured in a League Cup tie eventually annulled the marriage.
But the striker has blossomed since after a further loan stint at Leicester and more goals in Tottenham’s development structure. The man terrorising Premier League defences now bears no resemblance to the callow teenager who fluffed his big line at Carrow Road.
It is a testament to Kane’s character and his progress that he is now an indispensable part of his boyhood club’s future. Wolston's own rising star striker, Dave Shaw, should use Kane as a role model. One Shot at Glory
Injury altered his upward mobility at Wolston but, like Kane, scoring goals for ‘his’ club remains within reach. The maturity of Kane’s performances now suggest it was arguably those testing formative experiences away from White Hart Lane which shaped the man plundering with such regularity. Very few youngsters earn a passage to the first team in the serene style of a Ryan Giggs or Raheem Sterling. Kane’s early career path is the norm for young professionals graduating through the academy system. But his stirring exploits this season have made him a poster boy for perseverance.
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