Tottenham Hotspur take on Liverpool in the Champions League final on Saturday.
Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle urged Mauricio Pochettino not to start Harry Kane in the Champions League final on Saturday night, when speaking exclusively to talkSPORT.
Kane has not played a competitive game for Spurs for just over seven weeks, and despite being back involved in training, he will clearly be well short of match practice.
Tottenham have plenty of options to fill in for Kane, including in-form duo Heung-Min Son and Lucas Moura, so Pochettino will surely not force Kane back if he doesn’t think he’s 100 per cent ready.
And Hoddle told talkSPORT how the England international will have much more of an impact if he is utilised as a second-half substitute against Liverpool on Saturday in Madrid:
“I’m absolutely delighted that he’s fit, but I definitely wouldn’t start him. I think what a sight it would be for the Spurs fans and his team-mates if he’s there with half-an-hour to go. What a sight to see him come on with Lucas Moura and Heung-min Son. The tempo of the game is going to be absolutely incredible at the beginning of the game, I don’t think he’ll be ready for that sort of pace. I really feel that once the game is settled in the second-half that’s where he can have a real impact.”
Kane himself will be desperate to play from the start on Saturday, but the Tottenham striker might just be acutely aware that he has rushed back from injury before.
Either way, it is a nice problem for Pochettino to have, and whoever he chooses to start the game with have to be at their vey best both physically and mentally, if they are to have any chance whatsoever of beating Jurgen Klopp’s brilliant Liverpool side.
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