King Kane: Tottenham striker on course to break Premier League record

"Kane will now be eyeing the overall record for the most Premier League goals in a calendar year. The England forward needs another twelve goals to break the record, and has fifteen league matches remaining in 2017 in which to do it."
Published by
29th Sep 2017
Categories: Tottenham Hotspur

It hasn’t been a bad year for Harry Kane. The Spurs captain is on target to reach the most goals scored in a single calendar year and already has six hat-tricks to his name in 2017. A year which has also seen him become a father for the first time.

After netting brace in Spurs' 3-2 win at West Ham last week, the striker has set the record for the most Premier League goals scored in a calendar year up to October, with one game left against Huddersfield still to come. However, the bigger record comes at the end of December.

Many experts thought Kane was going to be a ‘one season wonder’ following his breakthrough campaign in 2014/15. Now, he looks like making it four seasons in succession as the clubs top scorer. His 25 strikes in 2017 have come from just 23 games, beating the 24 in 29 that Alan Shearer scored for Blackburn between January and September 1995.

Kane currently averages 1.09 goals a game, he'll now be eyeing the overall record for the most Premier League goals in a calendar year. The England forward needs another twelve goals to break the record, and has fifteen league matches remaining in 2017 in which to do it. Spurs have matches against Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City to contend to in that period so Kane will need to be on top of his game if he is to make history. Buy your Tottenham tickets here.

To put this into context, Kane has had a better 2017 than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi - an achievement that should not be undermined. Messi's 34 strikes have come in 27 matches, whereas Ronaldo has 15 in 20. Impressively, Kane boasts a better shots-to-goals ratio than both.

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino says Kane is one of the best strikers in the world but it’s too early to make comparisons with the likes of Ronaldo and Messi. In a news conference, Pochettino said: “He is one of the best strikers in the world and because he's still so young, he can improve.”

He added: "His potential, his professionalism; he has a gap to improve a lot. I never said he is better than Cristiano and Lionel Messi, who are at a different level. They are the best and are showing that for the last five to 10 years.”

For a player who has never scored in the month of August it makes his feat even more impressive. With August's draught now firmly in the past, Kane is back to the kind of form which has people touting him to become one of the greatest strikers in world football. Kane has won the Premier League Golden Boot in the last two seasons but faces stiff competition this term from Chelsea's Alvaro Morata, Manchester United's Romelu Lukaku and Manchester City pair Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus.

The Tottenham skipper continues to defy the odds and continues to dazzle. He will be hoping to continue his meteoric rise late into his Premier League career in order to be remembered as a true Premier League great. He is certainly going the right way about it at the slender age of 24 with his peak seasons ahead of him. If he breaks the record he will top the goalscoring chart ahead of the likes of Alan Shearer, Robin Van Persie, Thierry Henry, Les Ferdinand and Ruud Van Nistlerooy. Illustrious company to say the least.