‘That’s not true’: Paul Merson defends Tottenham star Harry Kane after recent criticism

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Pundit Paul Merson has suggested that there was nothing wrong with Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane going to America to watch golf last week.

Tottenham were in blistering form heading into Saturday’s game against Brighton and Hove Albion.

The goals were flying in, Antonio Conte was racking up wins and Tottenham were in the box seat for Champions League football.

It all unraveled against Brighton though as Tottenham turned in a torrid performance, losing 1-0 to Leandro Trossard’s late goal.

Arsenal’s win over Chelsea on Wednesday night complicates matters for Tottenham now, with a real battle coming in the final weeks.

Some have wondered whether Tottenham players were tired after so many games lately, and Kane has received some stick.

After beating Aston Villa 4-0, Kane jetted off to America to watch the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia.

Kane is a huge golf fan – who can forget his rather infamous chat with Gary Neville on a goal course just last year?

Kane likely enjoyed himself there but then came back and turned in a fairly lethargic performance against Brighton.

That unsurprisingly sparked questions and criticism of Kane, with a belief that his trip ended up hindering his performances.

Kane did maybe leave himself open to that scrutiny by going away, but aren’t footballers allowed to enjoy themselves outside of the game?

Pundit Merson has now moved to defend Kane, telling Sky Sports that people were wrong for saying Kane’s decision was a ‘joke’.

Merson believes it’s ‘just not true’ that Tottenham would have beaten Brighton if Kane had stayed in London rather than jet off to America.

Merson noted that players are always travelling in midweek for games and that they’re simply used to these journeys now, so Kane won’t have been affected. For whatever reason, it just didn’t happen for him and Tottenham against Brighton.

“Everyone was also saying about Harry Kane, that it was a joke for him to be going to America to watch the golf. Spurs wouldn’t have lost to Brighton if he’d stayed. That’s just not true,” said Merson.

“Other teams are going into Europe most weeks throughout the season. They are taking four or five-hour journeys regularly for some of these European games,” he added.