Report: How Brad Friedel helped Harry Kane to get noticed in Spurs academy
Harry Kane is one of the best players in the world right now, but it was a comment from Brad Friedel that helped the Spurs star get noticed during his time in the academy. After a handful of forgettable loan spells in his early career, Kane has developed into one of the most prolific strikers […]
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Harry Kane is one of the best players in the world right now, but it was a comment from Brad Friedel that helped the Spurs star get noticed during his time in the academy.
After a handful of forgettable loan spells in his early career, Kane has developed into one of the most prolific strikers of all time for both club and country.
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This year alone, Kane has become Tottenham’s all-time leading goalscorer (GOAL) and he recently broke Wayne Rooney’s record to become England’s all-time top scorer, too.
It’s been a disappointing season for Spurs on the whole, but Kane has still racked up an impressive 25 goals in all competitions for the Lilywhites (Transfermarkt).
It’s unthinkable that Kane could ever have struggled to make an impression on those watching him. However, at a young age, it sounds like Tottenham’s talismanic striker was not actually top of his group in the Spurs academy.
In an appearance on the We Are Liverpool podcast, Liverpool academy manager Alex Inglethorpe has explained how Brad Friedel helped him pinpoint Kane’s quality during their time at Tottenham.
He said: “So at 14 years of age, Harry was nowhere near top of the group and I think anyone at Tottenham would think at 16, good player, 17, I like him.
“At Tottenham, it was Brad Friedel who got us all thinking about Harry because one day he’s come in after training, sat down with me and John McDermott, who was director, at the time, he said: ‘young lad, Kane, finishes like Fowler. He’s got the same finishing technique as Robbie.'”
On the impact of that comment, Inglethorpe added: “We knew he was good but there’s no better compliment since then there was a different light on him because of that reference Brad give him.
“I’m not saying that’s what got him in the first team but there was a feeling of ‘oh.'”
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It’s funny to think about what might have been had certain things not happened the way they did.
Obviously, Kane is quality and would surely have found his way to the top anyway, but Friedel’s comment there may well have been a catalyst in getting him there.
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