Brad Friedel gives insight into what Harry Kane was like as a Spurs youngster

Brad Friedel has revealed that Harry Kane always stood out because of his shooting and work ethic while coming through the ranks at Tottenham.

Kane is now widely considered to be one of the best strikers in world football, with the striker having written his name into the history books by becoming the leading goalscorer for both Tottenham and England.

However, the path to the top was certainly not always straightforward for the centre-forward, who was not seen as a wonderkid while coming through the ranks of the academy.

In fact, the chances of him having a career at Tottenham seemed quite slim when he failed to have much of an impact during his loan spells at EFL clubs but once he was handed a chance by Tim Sherwood, he never looked back.

What perhaps separates Kane from many of his peers is the fact that he has constantly been evolving and improving facets of his game, and Freidel has now given us an insight into the hunger that the England captain possessed even in his younger days.

The former Tottenham number one said that the only question mark he had about the striker was his lack of pace.

The American told Premier League Productions (01/05/23 at 2:20 pm): “I was doing my coaching, at the time, at Tottenham and Harry was coming through.

“I was training with the first team in the mornings. Then Harry would come up, now and again, to train with the first team.

“I asked ‘who is good when they are training?’ They said ‘Kane, he has the pace of Shearer and the whip of Fowler’.

“The disguise and the short backlift that Robbie had. It was so difficult. I said ‘I know that I am an old so and so right now, but I am having a real hard time saving his shots. I can’t get to them’.

“Every day (he trained). Any goalkeeper that was around ‘come on, boom’. He is in there – the greats don’t cut corners and he would stay out there.

“You had to drag him off the pitch, that’s why he is who he is.

“The question when he was growing up was pace. That was the one question.

“But the way he has learned to use his body, get into positions, the way he sees the goal, he is a tall lad, movement and he is brave.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Kane is a much better role model for young players to follow compared to some other superstars as the Tottenham man was not as naturally gifted as some players.

Instead, his route to the top of the pyramid is a story of hard work and determination.

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