Harry Kane has been favourably compared to the great Diego Maradona after delivering another Tottenham masterclass over the weekend.
The England captain was superb once again on Sunday, producing a virtuoso display to lead Spurs from a 1-0 deficit to a thumping 5-1 home win over Newcastle that saw Antonio Conte’s side leapfrog Arsenal in the race for fourth and throw down the gauntlet to their north London rivals ahead of the run-in.
Kane’s latest exceptional all-round performance drew effusive praise from manager Conte, with the 28-year-old now having racked up eight goals and five assists in 2022 alone, putting a slow start to the season following a botched public attempt to force a move to Manchester City firmly behind him.
Kane’s latest vintage Tottenham outing came after he moved level with the iconic Sir Bobby Charlton on 49 England goals during the international break, just four behind all-time Three Lions top scorer Wayne Rooney after his penalty spot winner against Switzerland at Wembley.
Kane has often been described as now acting as a world-class No9 and a No10 all rolled into one for Spurs, with David Ginola even drawing comparisons with the late Argentine great Maradona.
“The new playmaker at Spurs is Harry Kane,” Spurs legend Ginola told Sky Sports. “I told you, Harry Kane, the playmaker, no10. He’s like Maradona now!
“Playing in the middle of the park, long balls, small balls, scoring, assisting. Wow. It’s a new Harry Kane.”
Every top performance from Kane inevitably provokes fresh debate over his long-term club future, with Ginola admitting that annually striving just to finish fourth is not nearly sufficient to satisfy a player of his quality.
“For a player of his calibre, playing year-in, year-out, just to be in the top four, it’s not enough,” Ginola said.
“If he’s got propositions in the future to play with clubs who will challenge for and win trophies, that’s where he could [leave]. At the end of your career, what you look at is the list of trophies that you won.”
Meanwhile, Ginola’s fellow pundit Graeme Souness believes all the focus at Tottenham should be on keeping Kane this summer rather than further new signings, with huge pressure on chairman Daniel Levy.
“We don’t know what Harry and the football club have agreed,” he said. “Harry will have a real dilemma. They have a proper coach and they will be a real strength.
“He has won nothing yet. It’s OK having records but you want to show your grandkid your medals. The dilemma is does he stay or go.
“If I was Conte my first thing would be ‘for me to stay, Harry Kane has to stay’.
“Not the signings he will be getting - it has to be all about Kane. It puts Levy and the board under huge pressure. They have to keep the manager and the player.
“If Erling Haaland is going to Man City, who else could afford Kane?”
