Les Ferdinand admits 30-year-old who Tottenham sold last year has really shocked him

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Les Ferdinand has named the player he never expected to become as good as they have done when they were coming through at Tottenham Hotspur during his time as a coach.

Les Ferdinand returned to Spurs in 2008 after spending just under six years in North London during his playing days. And he remain at White Hart Lane until 2014.

That proved to be a turbulent few years for Tottenham. But it was a spell which helped lay the foundations for the success that they would enjoy under Mauricio Pochettino.

And of course, one of the key moments in Tottenham’s history would come when Harry Kane emerged into the first-team fold.

Kane took his time to find his way into the senior side at Spurs. Of course, it is well-known that his various loan spells provided few clues as to the player he would become.

Les Ferdinand shares what shocked him about Harry Kane

And it seems that those working behind the scenes at Tottenham had little idea that they were watching the beginning of the career of one of the greatest goalscorers England has ever had.

Speaking on Stick to Football, Les Ferdinand explained that while he was always optimistic about Kane, the Tottenham coaches did not quite realise what a superstar they had on their hands.

“When we had him at Tottenham coming through I remember first looking at him when I first went to Tottenham and said he had the intelligence of a Teddy Sheringham, because he wasn’t quick, so he always played as a number 10 or a number eight,” he said.

“Under Chris Ramsey when he was coming through the ranks he had been played as a seven, eight, a number 11, so that he could understand all the different positions.

“He had that intelligence to know that he wasn’t going to go in behind, so he would come and thicken up the midfield and we would play with one up-front, just operating around that place.

“I said to Tim and Chris he had the shooting capabilities of Alan Shearer with the intelligence of Sheringham and I am going to be honest, none of us saw him where he was today. We knew he’d have a career, didn’t know whether it would be in the Premier League. I always remember him going to Norwich and Chris Hughton was there and he went ‘well he’s not a number nine in the sense of a Les Ferdinand and he’s not a number 10 in the sense of a Ted Sheringham, I think he’s an nine and a half’.”

Few expected striker to become Tottenham legend

What was particularly remarkable about Kane during his time at Tottenham was his consistency. This season will be the first since the 2013/14 campaign where the England captain is not Spurs’ top goalscorer in all competitions.

He left for Bayern Munich last summer having become Tottenham’s all-time leading goalscorer. And of course, he was involved in that absolutely deadly partnership with Heung-min Son.

Kane’s story is definitely an encouraging one for any youngster who may be written off. He is something of a freak. But his rise shows that players can very much surpass expectations.