Former Tottenham goalkeeper Brad Friedel has now opened up on the role he played in helping Harry Kane break through at Spurs.
Tottenham Hotspur have been lucky to have one of the best forwards of this generation in Harry Kane.
The Englishman came through the Spurs ranks and, after a remarkable 10 seasons at Tottenham, managed an even more impressive 280 goals in 435 appearances, the most in the club’s history.
This season, he has continued his outstanding form in front of goal, just as he has done throughout most of his career, recording 66 goals and nine assists in 65 appearances.
Those numbers are comparable only to the peak years of two of football’s all-time greats, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Brad Friedel reveals how he helped Harry Kane’s development at Tottenham
With such remarkable numbers, the natural question of whether Kane is England’s greatest forward inevitably emerges.
England has produced several outstanding strikers over the years, with Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney and Robbie Fowler, to name just a few.
Former Spurs goalkeeper Brad Friedel has now opened up on the debate, revealing the role he played in Kane’s development during their time together at Tottenham.
Speaking on the GOOD BAD FOOTBALL YouTube channel, he said: “I was doing my coaching badges. And a lot of the academy players would come up and train with the first team and because I was going back and forth with the academy, John McDermott and Alex Inglethorpe…
“Alex is at Liverpool now. They would always ask me which one of the young players did well. And so on this one particular day, I just went: ‘Kane’. I said he’s got the power of Shearer and the back lift and accuracy of Fowler. It’s really difficult to save his shots.
“That’s all I said. And then that instigated a conversation with Alex and John and the other academy coaches that maybe didn’t see that level of finishing in him, because it was just at the academy level, at the Under-21 level at the time.
“That’s the truth of what happened. This was not like me going out on the training pitch with H and making him into the striker that he is. All it was, was me having a relationship with the academy where they respected my opinion of who was doing well and who was not, and it opened up their minds a little bit to take a further look into Harry Kane.”
Harry Kane can cement his England legacy this summer
Kane could well seal his legacy as one of England’s greatest forwards this summer as the Three Lions aim to clinch their first World Cup title since 1966.
England find themselves in the semi-finals after beating Norway 2-1 in the previous round, but they must now secure another victory to book their place in the final.
So far, Kane has been a bright spark for Thomas Tuchel’s men, scoring five goals already at the World Cup, and should England go all the way, he will achieve a feat that many of the nation’s greatest forwards failed to accomplish.