West Ham v Spurs is the perfect game for Harry Kane to show he’s back

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It’s fair to say Harry Kane has been out of sorts for the last few months.

But Tottenham’s talisman could prove he’s back to his best in a Premier League trip to West Ham United this weekend.

Indeed, Saturday’s London derby has come at the perfect time for Kane to demonstrate his return to form.

Injury troubles

Since injuring his ankle in a Premier League game against Bournemouth back in March, Kane hasn’t quite resembled the all-action centre forward we’ve come to know so well.

All of which makes the fact he hasn’t stopped scoring in that time even more unbelievable. The 25-year-old has scored 12 times in 19 appearances for Spurs since returning from that ankle injury, as well as winning the Golden Boot at the World Cup with six strikes for England.

Such is the standard Kane has set, 12 in 19 isn’t overly impressive – but it is a surprisingly good ratio for a player who has been below par in recent months.

Whether the injury is the primary reason behind Kane’s drop in form is questionable. It’s clear, though, that his game has changed since he hurt his ankle.

A deeper role

Kane has been playing a slightly deeper role of late. Against Cardiff City earlier this month, he managed only four touches in the opposition box.

In only four home league games has he managed fewer than that since the beginning of 2016/17. Two of those matches – against Manchester City and Leicester City last term – came after his ankle injury, which is perhaps telling.

This withdrawn role has also become more prominent since Lucas Moura emerged as a contender for a starting place at Tottenham. His pace and ability to make runs in behind the opposition means Kane can drop deeper and play a more supportive, creative role.

Sound familiar? That’s because Kane prospered in a similar position for England against Spain this week, handing over the goalscoring responsibilities to Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford.

It hasn’t worked quite as well for Spurs; Moura hasn’t scored since his brace against Manchester United, while Dele Alli and Heung-Min Son have been struggling with injuries and fatigue, putting more pressure on Kane to score goals himself.

But Kane’s scintillatingly effective display against Spain proved two things: his confidence is back, and he can play brilliantly without necessarily scoring. That said, no one would be surprised to see him find the net on Saturday.

King of London, scourge of West Ham

Kane has scored seven goals in nine appearances against West Ham, all in the Premier League. He has only scored more goals in all competitions against Leicester City (13) and Stoke City (8).

Not only is Kane the scourge of West Ham; he is the nemesis of the entire capital having scored 24 goals in 36 Premier League London derbies, including seven goals against Arsenal.

It’s worth mentioning the Gunners because games between Spurs and West Ham have recently taken on a similar level of intensity to North London derbies. Kane feeds on the ferocity that is spawned by these kind of games, which could be why his record against West Ham is so good.

And that could continue this weekend. Only Fulham (56), Burnley (49) and Cardiff (48) have faced more shots on target than West Ham (47) in the Premier League this term, and only Paul Pogba (14) has managed more shots on target than Kane (13, level with Aleksandar Mitrovic and Mohamed Salah).

If West Ham leave sufficient gaps, Kane will take advantage, either with a goal or a key piece of supporting play that could sway the result in Tottenham’s favour.

The post West Ham v Spurs is the perfect game for Harry Kane to show he’s back appeared first on Squawka News.



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