Harry Kane is the best No.9 in the Premier League.
He also happens to be the best No.10 in the Premier League.
The Tottenham Hotspur talisman showed how he has add a more creative side to his game with a brilliant trio of assists in England’s 6-0 thrashing of Bulgaria on Monday. And, of course, he got on the scoresheet too.
Tim Sherwood used to describe Kane as a ‘9 and a half’. He says a lot of daft stuff these days, does Tim, but he was spot on about Kane.
The 26-year-old has spent the majority of his Spurs career as a frontline striker, being supplied by Christian Eriksen – a partnership which looks certain to end as the Dane winds down his contract in North London.
Spurs have this week been linked again to Sporting Lisbon’s Bruno Fernandes, by Portuguese outlet A Bola, as the direct replacement for Eriksen. His pedigree – 55 goals and 43 assists in 119 games for Sporting – suggests he would be a fine option as a modern-day No.10.
But Kane’s all-round excellence means that Spurs should think differently about replacing Eriksen. Kane could drop slightly deeper into a second striker position, an old-fashioned No.10 ala Teddy Sheringham or, dare I say it, Dennis Bergkamp, to pick up the creative burden, something he is already doing now anyway. He would add greater physicality at the top of the midfield and still score 20 league goals a season, if he stays fit.
It would probably prolong his career at the top level too.
Meanwhile, Spurs finally have an opportunity to attract a second top-class forward, another 20-goal-a-season player, who would no longer be deterred by Kane’s stranglehold on the No.9 position, but instead profit on his passing and vision, as Raheem Sterling et al. are doing for England.
As Mauricio Pochettino briefly tried with Vincent Janssen. Only this time, don’t try it with Vincent Janssen.
Try it with say, not Vincent Janssen.