Van der Vaart explains how Spurs ace has proved him wrong

Former Tottenham midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has admitted that he has been surprised by the rise of Harry Kane.

Kane was just a teenager when Van der Vaart mesmerised the White Hart Lane faithful for two seasons after arriving on a deadline day move from Real Madrid in 2010.

With strikers like Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Robbie Keane still at the club, it was no surprise that Kane was way down the pecking order at the North London outfit.

The England captain had to prove himself with a series of loan moves during his younger days but Van der Vaart has admitted that he was far from impressed with Kane when the striker did join in with the first team during training.

In an interview with Championat (as translated by 90 min), the Dutchman said: “I remember his first training session. Kane was then 18 or 19 years old. Every second touch – with his head.

“I went to our goalkeeper [Heurelho] Gomes and said: ‘what a s**t this guy is’. Now look, Kane is the best striker in the world. This story only shows that I do not understand anything in football.”

The former midfielder also went on to reveal that he striker he enjoyed playing with most during his time in N17 was Peter Crouch.

Van der Vaart added: “For me personally, Crouch was the best, because he was taller than everyone and we could always play off him.

“In addition, I scored my first six goals at White Hart Lane after his assists with his head.”

Spurs Web Opinion

It was not just Van der Vaart that Kane’s development took by surprise but also most Spurs fans. The striker was never spoken about as one of our bigger prospects while graduating through the ranks with the likes of Tom Carrol and Andros Townsend being regarded more highly.

However, over the course of a season or two, he suddenly went from a player who had few strengthens to one who had very few weaknesses. That his a testament to Kane’s hard work and his mentality.

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