Destined To Greatness? Can Harry Kane Break Alan Shearer’s Record?
Scoring 80 goals in the Premier League at just 24 years of age is no mean feat, but Harry Kane is no average player either. The Tottenham forward is yet to break his August jinx, but he is in line to break several other records. Kane recently reached the 100-goal club for his club, and at this rate, there is no clue as to where he will stop.
The Arsenal Academy reject first shot into fame when he netted 21 times in 34 league games for the London-based club in the 2014-15 season. But most critics dismissed him as a one-season wonder. Those criticisms came to haunt them badly, as the Englishman followed it up with 25 goals from 38 league games in the following season, winning the Golden Boot.
In the previous campaign, he missed the first few weeks of action due to a cruciate ligament injury but still scored 29 goals in 30 appearances, at an incredible strike rate of 0.97 goals per game. It was no wonder that with such statistics, he managed to grab the coveted highest scorer award once again.
This season, he failed to score in the opening few weeks – something that has been named by the media as “Kane’s August Jinx”. However, he hit the ground running for England and Spurs in September. The 24-year-old forward scored a brace against Everton this past weekend and is currently 180 goals behind Alan Shearer’s record haul. Kane currently has 80 goals from 120 Premier League appearances. It means that he has scored 0.66 goals per game, which is already better than what Shearer has at 0.59 goals per game.
The biggest challenge for Kane in breaking the record is not about when, but about whether if he wants to or not. The Tottenham man has all the qualities in him to become one of the most devastating strikers in modern football. As such, it is possible that the likes of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich might try to lure him away. But every Tottenham fan would hope that it won’t be the case. Ever since a young Wayne Rooney made his Champions League bow against Fenerbache, English football has not seen an English player outscore his rivals with such ease and audacity.
However, it is likely that he may not stay at Spurs for long, in which case the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United will also be looking to secure his services. Either way, if he manages to remain injury-free and keep playing with such consistency, Kane is most likely to break Shearer’s tally within the next decade or so.