‘The one question’: Brad Friedel shares what a young Harry Kane was like in Tottenham training

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Brad Friedel has praised Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane and how you had to ‘drag him off’ the training pitch when he was younger.

The former Premier League goalkeeper was at Tottenham towards the back end of his career, as well as doing his coaching badges in north London.

Therefore, the American would have seen a fresh-faced and young Harry Kane coming through the ranks.

Whilst the 29-year-old is one of the world’s best right now, it’s not something that was expected of him during his early days at Hotspur Way.

Kane had many troubles, especially out on loan, as he didn’t really light up the lower leagues.

But as Friedel pointed out ‘the greats don’t cut corners’, as he explained ‘the one question mark’ on Kane’s head when he was coming up, as he told Premier League Productions (01/05/23 at 2:20 pm). 

“I was doing my coaching, at the time, at Tottenham and Harry was coming through,” said Friedel. “I was training with the first team in the mornings. Then Harry would come up, now and again, to train with the first team.

“I asked ‘who is good when they are training?’ They said ‘Kane, he has the pace of Shearer and the whip of Fowler’. The disguise and the short backlift that Robbie had. It was so difficult.

“I said ‘I know that I am an old so and so right now, but I am having a real hard time saving his shots. I can’t get to them’.

“Every day (he trained). Any goalkeeper that was around ‘come on, boom’. He is in there – the greats don’t cut corners and he would stay out there. You had to drag him off the pitch, that’s why he is who he is.

“The question when he was growing up was pace. That was the one question. But the way he has learned to use his body, get into positions, the way he sees the goal, he is a tall lad, movement and he is brave.”

KANE – ONE OF THE PREMIER LEAGUE’S BEST

As of this moment, Kane can put himself amongst the Premier League’s best, even though he is playing for an abject Spurs side.

Even in his sleep, he can score goals and he is proving that during this campaign.

The fact that he has 25 Premier League goals from 34 games, when his team have, in their last two away matches, been 5-0 down after 20 minutes and 3-0 down inside 15, just goes to show what he has to deal with.