“If I were managing Harry” Wayne Rooney On How He’d Change Kane

Wayne Rooney has advised Harry Kane to revert to playing as a genuine No.9 rather than dropping deeper to try to influence the game.

Kane’s game has changed in recent years, influenced by his role in the England side I believe, so that he comes into midfield to collect the ball more often than he did when he first broke through at Tottenham.

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It has arguably made him a more complete player, technically at least, although physically he is not as rounded as he was in his youth. His passing range has improved dramatically, but his goal threat has dropped.

In the 2017-18 season, peak Kane when he plundered 37 goals in all competitions, he was averaging five shots a game in the Premier League. That average is 2.8 this campaign and Rooney would like to see Kane operate a little higher again so that he starts getting more shots away.

“In the last two seasons we’ve seen him drop deeper more and play balls in behind and he’s very good at it, as we saw when England beat Spain in Seville,” Rooney, now a player-coach at Derby County, told The Times.

“But if I were managing Harry, I’d be telling him to stay high as that No 9. His biggest strength is finishing and he strikes the ball so well that from 20 yards or closer he should be looking to hit it whenever possible.

“Harry is a classic No 9, the closest I’ve seen to Ruud [van Nistelrooy, Rooney’s former teammate]. If I were building a team, he’s the one I’d start with. Harry Kane: there’s my No 9. Then I’d build the rest around him.”

I couldn’t agree more with Rooney, here, although you suspect it is a message to Manchester United as much as it is Kane himself. Harry used to score so many more goals from outside the box, shifting and shooting with either foot. I feel that is an element of his game that he has lost recently.