Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen has backed striker Harry Kane to rediscover his goalscoring touch ahead of the North London derby against Arsenal.
Kane shot to prominence last season with 31 goals in 51 games for Spurs in all competitions, including 21 in the Premier League.
Cynics predicted Kane would struggle to replicate that form this time around, and while his general play has been of a high quality, so far they have been proved right.
The Chingford-born 22-year-old has netted just twice in his last 14 Premier League games for Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
A huge North London derby against arch rivals Arsenal looms large on Wednesday night in the League Cup.
And Kane has been backed to rediscover his scoring touch when it matters most by teammate Jan Vertonghen.
‘The goals will come’
Speaking to Sky Sports, the Belgian defender said Kane has been putting the ball away everywhere except in matches and admitted he felt sorry for the striker.
“He has just been a bit unlucky,” Vertonghen told Sky Sports.
“He scored for England and in the training sessions he has been doing very well, so the goals will come.
“He’s not a guy who will just have one good season and then you never see him again.
“He has the qualities to perform and the goals will come eventually.”
Top flight littered with one season wonders
The Premier League is littered with players who have burst on the scene only to fade away as quickly as they arrived.
Dubbed ‘second season syndrome’ some players struggle to cope with the pressure of following up on a golden season.
They suddenly find themselves being doubled up on by opposition defenders who are wiser to their qualities and weaknesses.
Michael Ricketts, Marcus Stewart, Andy Johnson, Michael Bridges, Michu.
They are just some of the strikers who have taken the English top flight by storm over the years only to see their careers nosedive.
Kane won’t be another statistic
As any Spurs fan will know, though, Kane may have a distinct advantage over those one season wonders.
His desire, strength, workrate and ability to link the play – much like his hero and former Tottenham star Teddy Sheringham used to – means goals are not the only thing Kane brings to the team.
As his recent England performance showed, Kane has not suddenly lost his goalscoring ability overnight.
And more importantly than anything, he continues to get in the right positions – if he wasn’t, then it would be a concern.
One thing is for sure, though, for Spurs fans, there would be no better team to kick-start his season against than their bitter enemies on Wednesday night.
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