More direct, more lethal: Meets the new Harry Kane

Harry Kane is in the form of his life thanks to a change in his style of play.

The 23-year-old Tottenham Hotspur striker has scored 15 times in the past 14 games in all competitions, including two hat-tricks. His return of 25 goals after 31 appearances is Kane’s best goal ratio since breaking into the first team.

Not surprisingly, Kane’s return of 0.90 goals per 90 minutes leaves him the most efficient striker in the Premier League, per Squawka. His drastic change in the style of play contributes to his high form he is enjoying.

When Harry Kane broke into the Tottenham first team, he was asked to play much wider, offering himself in link-up play situations to create chances. His incredible finishing skill attributes to his impressive goalscoring record.

Whether the ball is in the tight angle or outside of the box, Kane always somehow finds the bottom corner. His goals against Chelsea, Arsenal, and Germany are Kane’s best showcases of his ability to score goals from anywhere.

This season, Kane is still scoring at will. But his strike against Everton was his first from outside of the box in an open-play situation. Of 25 goals he has scored in all competition this season, 23 of them (92 percent) were taken with the first touch.

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In Kane’s first full season with Spurs, he netted 31 times. Sixteen of them (52 percent) were taken with his first touch. Seventeen of his 27 goals (63 percent) of his goal in the sophomore season were converted within a single touch.

In addition, he scored three times from outside of the box in each of the first two seasons, highlighted by that strike against Arsenal. In exchange for his scoring, his link ups with other players and creating of chances for himself becomes virtually redundant.

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Per whoscored, he now completes only 20 passes and 1.1 dribbles per game, a remarkable drop from his career average 25 passes and 1.4 dribbles. Regardless, Kane has assisted 5 times this season, which is enough to surpass his career-best four assists in his maiden year.

Harry Kane has become a more ruthless striker because he is bailed from having to play too far away from the goal – which contributed to his lengthy drying spell in his early career. Most of the time, the striker went missing because of the manager’s instruction to drop deep.

At times, he was sandwiched between the defenders with no possible support. The striker has benefited from the arrival of his partner-in-crime, Dele Alli. The 21-year-old midfielder has thrived as a shadow striker, offering himself as an additional goalscoring outlet with his compatriot.

Alli’s ability to time the run perfectly makes him a reliable option inside the penalty area. The PFA Young Player of the Year candidate has scored 16 times in the league so far, the most among the midfielders. His presence splits up defenders, and creates space for Kane.

Mauricio Pochettino’s experiment of freeing Alli from playmaking responsibility has paid off. Spurs’ diverse attacking play has benefited from having an additional option to pick out the pass. In addition, Alli’s tendency to penetrate the final third releases Kane from having to vacate the central area to feed the ball to his teammates.

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Tottenham has scored 68 times in the Premier League this season, just one short of an attacking-at-will Liverpool team. Football is fun at White Hart Lane, thanks to the dynamic duo of Kane-Alli and the magic of Christian Eriksen.

Romelu Lukaku has made the most of Kane’s absence in the race for the Golden Boot, scoring six goals in the process. However, Harry Kane, who has finished the past two seasons second in the top scorer table, won’t give up without a fight.

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More direct, but more lethal: Meet the new Harry Kane

By Nhan Doan | Apr 21, 2017

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