Harry Kane names £4m Tottenham Hotspur icon as key influence on his playing style

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There is no player doing it like Harry Kane right now, with the Bayern Munich forward in scintillating form. But, he owes a lot to a former Tottenham striker who he idolised as a youngster.

Since Harry Kane left Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2023, he has taken the Bundesliga by storm. He’s already racked up over 100 goals for Bayern, broken all kinds of records, and finally landed his first trophy.

Even Kane himself said he’s playing the best football of his life right now. With 19 goals in 11 matches this season, it’s hard to disagree.

There are now rumours Kane could return to Spurs in the near future, and given how he feels about one Tottenham legend, there’s a good chance he will want to come back home and pick up where he left off.

• READ MORE: Harry Kane names Tottenham academy graduate as the biggest aerial threat he’s ever seen

Harry Kane reveals his four best strikers, including Spurs legend

In a recent TikTok on the GOAL account, Kane was asked for his Mount Rushmore of retired strikers. Among the four choices, he picked out Ronaldo (the Brazil legend), England superstar Wayne Rooney, whom he described as “one of the best strikers to do it”, and former Real Madrid icon Raul.

Then, in a bit of a surprise choice, Kane named former Spurs man Teddy Sheringham as the fourth and final pick.

On Sheringham, Kane said: “I watched him growing up. A very clever footballer. He had an amazing career. He’s someone who I watched a lot and learned a lot from when I was younger.”

Sheringham is a member of the Premier League Hall of Fame, was part of Manchester United’s famous treble-winning side of 1999, and made a whopping 277 appearances for Spurs during his time there.

He scored 125 goals for the Lilywhites and has remained strongly connected with the club since retiring.

• READ MORE: Harry Kane tells Mathys Tel he can improve in two clear ways at Tottenham

Teddy Sheringham and Harry Kane are incredibly similar players

In many ways, it’s obvious that Kane idolised Sheringham and drew influences from his game. They’re both strikers who know where the back of the net is, of course, and who were able to use both physicality and intelligence to create chances.

Sheringham was a brilliant aerial threat, just like Kane, but was also wonderfully nimble and tricky with his feet, too. The only main difference, really, is that Kane is arguably more mobile and covers more ground, with a willingness to drop deep to make things happen.

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That’s not to say Sheringham wouldn’t put in the hard yards, but he was a more old-fashioned forward; the type that would hang around in the box and find space, with an impeccable knack of being in the right place at the right time.

Kane’s ‘frightening’ passing range also puts him ahead of Sheringham and many of his peers. As a Tottenham fan myself, I’m delighted he’s finally getting his flowers… I just wish he would come back to Spurs and fire in the goals like he is now!