MY ACCOUNT
Harry Kane says the arrivals of Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez in the Premier League will drive him to improve in an enticing Golden Boot race.
Kane has won three Golden Boot awards in the English top flight – in 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2020-21 – and managed 17 goals this season as Tottenham qualified for the Champions League.
Spurs team-mate Son Heung-min shared the accolade for the most Premier League goals with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah this season, the pair scoring 23 goals each.
Jurgen Klopp looks set to add more firepower to his attack at Anfield, with Nunez close to joining Liverpool for an initial fee of £64million (€75m) from Benfica.
Nunez has scored 48 goals in 85 games for Benfica in all competitions and averaged 1.2 goals every 90 minutes in the Portuguese Primeira Liga last season.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola bolstered his own wealth of attacking options with the Premier League champions Manchester City by triggering Haaland’s release clause at Borussia Dortmund.
The Norway international scored 86 goals in 89 games for Dortmund since joining from Salzburg in January 2020, averaging a goal every 84 minutes across all competitions.
Kane cannot wait to compete with the duo next season as the Premier League adds more talismanic talent to their ranks.
“Look, I think the battle for the Golden Boot is always tough,” Kane said at a pre-match news conference while on Nations League duty with England on Monday.
“The Premier League has produced some top strikers around the world for a number of years now.
“I think every season I’ve been playing it’s always been a tough battle to win that Golden Boot and it’s no different.
“You expect the top strikers to want to play in the Premier League and with those two new signings, that’s gonna be the case.
“I think it helps me as a player to have good competition, it drives me to improve and get better. I look forward to the challenge.”
The build-up to Kane’s 2021-22 campaign was filled with distraction as City tried and failed to secure the services of the England striker, attempting to replace the void left by Sergio Aguero at the Etihad Stadium.
Kane will likely have a smoother pre-season this time around and will look to utilise that to prepare for another campaign under Spurs head coach Antonio Conte.
“I try and focus on myself to begin with. Going into any season I have things I want to achieve and goals I want to reach,” he added.
“I try not to focus too much on other players in that aspect, I can’t control what they do.
“But what I will do is continue to work hard and improve and after this game have a nice break but then look forward to what will be a tough pre-season.
“And then I’ll get ready for the new season as I have done for the last seven, eight years now.”
