Tony Adams claims he would "have a cigar" if he were defending against Harry Kane after his World Cup performances.
The England star, who claimed the Golden Boot at the last tournament in Russia four years ago, is yet to get off the mark in two matches so far. Iran were hit for six but England failed to fire against the USA on Friday which has resulted in plenty of criticism from some.
Kane, England's go to man in the final third, has had few chances to get off the mark. That said, the Tottenham forward is continuing to drop deep to influence games, but that is hampering his ability to make a difference in and around the box. Adams believes Kane is playing in the wrong areas of the pitch and is too easy to defend against.
"He doesn’t get in behind the defence and he doesn’t face you up. He’s a link player who is going deeper and deeper to get the ball," Adams wrote in The Sun.
He went on to say: "People probably feel I’ve got it in for Harry after I also said we should take the captaincy off him and give it to Declan Rice, but that isn’t the case at all. And it’s not an Arsenal-Spurs thing either. We need Harry Kane, he is obviously one of the best strikers in the World, you only have to look at his numbers, but if I was a centre-back up against him in Qatar I’d have a cigar."
Kane himself admitted that it wasn't England's best performance on Friday and bemoaned their productivity in the attacking third. The 29-year-old has picked up deeper positions as his career's gone on, occasionally occupying something of a No 10 role in north London.
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Adams though has cited that age will be catching up with Kane, who has never been known for his blistering pace. As a result he wants to see England's No 9 playing as high up as possible so that he can be fed by England's creative players.
"Harry’s 29 now and isn’t going to get any quicker so, like Shearer, he needs players to feed him," he continued. "Where I want to see Harry is on the edge of the box, holding the ball up, pivoting and laying it off the way Shearer could do and Alan Smith did for us at Arsenal.
"Then he has to get in the penalty area and hope we finally start putting some crosses in. That’s where I want to see him, not ten yards inside his own half. He’s no good to anyone there."
