MY ACCOUNT
Harry Kane is short of goals and out of form — but Antonio Conte and Gareth Southgate could be just the men to get him back to his best.
The Tottenham and England forward has only found the net once in the Premier League this season after scoring 23 times to win the Golden Boot in the previous campaign.
But if a change is as good as a rest then Kane is in luck, with a new manager in the Spurs dugout and a chance to forget his domestic woes on international duty.
As the Three Lions prepare to take on Albania at Wembley tonight, here is how the striker’s two coaches can combine to restore his magic touch in the final third.
City upheaval
It was a tumultuous summer for both Kane and Tottenham.
The 28-year-old was linked with a move to Manchester City throughout the off-season, believing that he had a gentleman’s agreement in place with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy allowing him to leave North London.
When he was denied the opportunity to join Pep Guardiola’s side, the long-serving forward failed to turn up for pre-season before eventually making his peace with the club.
It is impossible to ignore the link between that saga and Kane’s drop-off in form — the question is whether new boss Conte can refocus his No10 after such upheaval behind the scenes.
A fresh start
England manager Southgate is confident that a change of leadership at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium can reinvigorate the talismanic frontman.
Speaking earlier this week, he said: “Now there’s a change of manager, I think there’s a fresh start for him.
“I think that will be a good stimulus. I’m sure the whole thing has been an experience that has been difficult.
“He’s ended up, understandably, with an adverse reaction from some of the fans there. He’s had to deal with a lot of unintentional consequences of the possible move in the summer.
“Antonio coming in is probably a good thing from Harry’s personal point of view.
“Knowing Antonio as I do, an outstanding coach and a very good man, I’m sure he’ll get a response and a reaction out of Harry very quickly.”
The striker whisperer
Southgate’s confidence in Conte is well founded, with the serial title winner building a reputation for getting the best out of strikers at his previous clubs.
That was evident at Chelsea, where tempestuous Spain international Diego Costa played some of the best football of his career under the Italian — scoring 20 goals en route to the Premier League title in 2017.
Then, as Inter Milan romped to a first scudetto in 11 years last season, Romelu Lukaku netted 24 goals in 36 Serie A matches.
Remarkably, the Belgian scored 64 times in all competitions across Conte’s two years at the San Siro.
There appears to be no reason why he cannot have the same impact on Kane’s performances.
No more Nuno
When former manager Nuno Espirito Santo left Spurs earlier this month, the attacking statistics behind his short reign were damning.
Only bottom side Norwich had scored fewer than Tottenham’s nine goals, while they also ranked second-last for shots (10.3) and chances created (7.1) per 90 minutes.
In contrast, Conte’s swashbuckling Inter side were Italy’s second-top scorers last term (89 goals), with a significant focus on crossing balls into the box.
That attacking intent should present Kane with plenty of opportunities to get his goalscoring back on track.
Building confidence
Kane may be struggling for Spurs but he continues to hit the net when pulling on an England shirt.
A poor performance against Hungary last month aside, he has scored in every other start during the 2022 World Cup qualification — netting a total of five goals across the campaign.
This evening’s opponents Albania may have only conceded seven times in eight matches but Kane will nonetheless be confident of adding to his 41 international goals against the Eagles.
That would help boost the forward’s confidence, ready for Conte to work his magic in the months ahead.
