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Gary Neville claims Harry Kane is playing as though someone pooped his party after the Tottenham star drew a fifth successive blank in the Premier League.
The England skipper had not experienced such a league goals drought since August 2016, and his loss of form follows a turbulent period in his career when he looked set to leave Spurs.
Kane appeared destined for a move to Manchester City, but that transfer did not materialise as the Premier League champions could not prise him from the north London club’s clutches.
He had five goal attempts in Sunday’s 3-1 derby defeat to Arsenal but could not find a way past Aaron Ramsdale.
“He doesn’t look happy,” Neville said.
Pointing to Tottenham’s 3-0 defeat to Chelsea in their previous game, Neville said: “Last week was a risk, I thought, shoving him out on the left wing. He was out on the left wing last week.
“Today I thought he did play higher, to be fair, but the balls played up to him were just long punts in the first 20 minutes.
“Harry doesn’t look himself in terms of his body language. He looks like he’s still carrying over the situation from over the summer.
“He could still have had two or three goals today and a penalty, so there’s still a contribution, but he’s just not himself. Neither is Son [Heung-min].
“Son and him look like they’ve had their balloons burst at a party as a kid. That’s what it looks like.”
Neville said Spurs have “good senior pros” in their ranks, as he sought an explanation for why their form has nosedived since starting the league campaign with three straight wins.
Rough losses to Crystal Palace, Chelsea and now Arsenal have seen them plummet from the top of the league and into mid-table.
Nuno Espirito Santo may have a big job on his hands in turning Spurs back into a winning side, and Neville suspects some players are pining for a coach in the mould of former boss Mauricio Pochettino.
“Those players to me look like they want a high-pressing, Pochettino-style coach that plays out from the back and gets the centre-backs on the six-yard line, rather than one that sits behind the ball and counter-attacks,” former Manchester United captain Neville said on Sky Sports.
With the derby defeat, Nuno became the first Spurs boss to lose as many as four times in his opening 10 fixtures since Glenn Hoddle in 2001.
Kane attempted just four passes in the first half at Emirates Stadium and was successful with only five of his 11 passes across the 90 minutes.
He has also failed to get a goal in back-to-back games against Arsenal for the first time in his Tottenham career.
Former Spurs captain Ledley King said of his old team-mate: “He cares, but there’s no doubt he’s out of shape at the moment. He’s out of form. He’s a big part for the club so when he’s not playing well we struggle.”
