The England captain has come under scrutiny after a series of poor performances for Tottenham Hotspur this season.
Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat against Internazionale at the San Siro was Tottenham Hotspur’s third consecutive loss; the first time that has happened under Mauricio Pochettino.
Defeat at Watford before the international break was followed by an abject performance at Wembley against Liverpool, with pressure mounting on the team and manager.
Of those coming under the spotlight, Harry Kane stands out. Spurs’ leading light has not looked anywhere near his best, struggling for chances and, as seen against Inter, not finishing sharply when his opportunities do come.
According to Tottenham teammate Erik Lamela, however, it is harsh that Kane should be focused on so much as the pressure to score goals should not all be on him.
“Harry is not a machine. He scores a lot. He always scores,” said Lamela, according to Goal.com. “Here [San Siro] he didn’t and for two or three games he didn’t, but he will score again.
“It’s not like Harry needs to score every single game. Christian [Eriksen] scored, I scored in the last game. Sonny [Son Heung-min] will score, Lucas [Moura] will score.
“All the pressure is not on Harry. All the attacking players need to score, and that’s it.”
It is certainly true that Kane should not have all the focus, especially when more faith has been put in him than was originally wanted.
Son’s time away at the Asian Cup and an injury to Dele Alli has put increased pressure on Kane, and that is without considering how he played a lot of football at the World Cup and cannot possibly be at his physical best.
Lamela is right that once everyone is back and firing, Kane can settle and be allowed to find his pace once again. He is wrong, however, that the pressure is not all on his number 10. It has been, and that has not helped anyone.
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