Tottenham round-up: Poch praises world-class Kane; pundit defends Alli dismissal; club to chase old target in the summer

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Mauricio Pochettino needed a reaction from his side over the weekend to banish the disappointment of the club’s ignominious Europa League exit at the hands of Gent, and respond they did with some style, a first-half hat-trick from England international Harry Kane helping Spurs blow away Stoke City at White Hart Lane on the way to a 4-0 victory to go second and take full advantage of Manchester City being out of action.

Kane was simply unplayable on the day as he hit all three of his goals within 23 first-half minutes, and such a fantastic performance drew swift praise from his manager, who said of the player that he is one of the ‘leading strikers in the world’ at present. It also saw the local lad to a personal milestone, netting his 100th, 101st and 102nd goals for the club in Sunday’s win.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Pochettino said of Kane:

“He’s playing at a very good level, a fantastic player.”

“He’s one of the top strikers in the world and I think he deserves it because he’s a great professional and top man. I’m happy for him.

“It doesn’t surprise me, because I’ve told you many times that for me he’s one of the best strikers in the world.

“This season we are not only winning games at White Hart Lane, we are playing very well here – maybe because we all know it’s the last season here and it’s a very special atmosphere on the pitch and in the stadium.”

Whether the club will feel a negative impact of leaving their traditional home to take up residence at Wembley for a season remains to be seen. Of course, their struggles in Europe at the national stadium will have done very little to create encouragement, with only one win in four European games before the quite substantial crowds that turned out for the fixtures.

The 80,465 that turned out for Tottenham’s second-leg against Gent was a record-attendance in the Europa League, but what stole the headlines within the club’s embarrassing exit was the dismissal of promising youngster Dele Alli, following a horror knee-high lunge on the Belgian side’s Brecht Dejaegere in retaliation for what he felt was a foul by the visiting player just moments earlier.

Alli left the field with the score at 1-1, and the game eventually finished 2-2, with a late Gent equaliser eliminating the hosts 3-2 on aggregate. It was notably, the first red card of his career, but it isn’t the first-time the youngster has been known t lash out, having punched West Brom’s Claudio Yacob in an off-the-ball incident earlier in the season, a nasty streak in the talented midfielder’s game becoming increasingly evident.

The tackle drew fierce criticism from former-Liverpool player and pundit Jamie Carragher, who branded the tackle ‘appalling’ and a potential leg-breaker in his Daily Mail column. The former defender also expressed his disappointment at the fact that a player of such ability, despite his competitive streak, should need to make such a challenge.

In the aftermath of this, another former-Liverpool man in Graham Souness has leaped to the defence of the youngster, writing in the Sunday Times that his ‘mean-streak’ is the attribute that will enable him to one day be on the level of the best players in the world.

“It was a nasty and unnecessary tackle, born out of frustration,” Souness wrote. “He really snapped into it, intending to leave a bit on the guy, so he got what he deserved with the red card.

“Yet that is also one of the reasons he could become a top player. Alli has a bit of devil in him, an edge that most top players possess. As strange as it sounds, if I was his manager, I would be quietly saying to myself: ‘Thank goodness he has got that in him.”

Even the world’s best are no strangers to dismissals, with Cristiano Ronaldo to name one example having seen red numerous times in his career, but Souness’ point is well-founded that Alli must maintain his fire and desire to win, but it is imperative that he learns from his mistake on this occasion. He has since apologised to his opponent as well as his teammates and Spurs supporters since.

The Scot continued: “Mauricio Pochettino, his manager, will not be happy that he was sent off, but he will be pleased that Alli cares when things are not going well”.

“He lost his discipline for a second, but the vast majority of players don’t have that nastiness in their make-up. That’s why part of me gets why he did it.”

Only time will tell as to whether Alli’s fiery personality on the field will enable him to rank amongst the world’s best, but even with Alli on the club’s books, Pochettino will be more than aware his Tottenham side needs strengthening if they are to compete for titles, and he may look to an old target to do just that this summer, reviving an old interest in Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot, according to the Daily Mirror.

Spurs had a loan-approach for the French youngster rebuffed two years ago, and the 21-year-old, who came through the ranks at the Parc des Princes, now boasts an impressive CV of four consecutive Ligue 1 titles, two Coupe de France medals and three Coupe de la Ligue victories to boot.

The player has emerged as a key part of Unai Emery’s side and is under contract with the French champions until 2019, but with just under two years left to run on that deal, the player has admitted he is no rush to negotiate an extension, which has put several clubs on alert, including Tottenham, as Mauricio Pochettino looks to add further depth to his midfield.

As a manager with a known preference for younger players, it is a move that would fit seamlessly into the Argentine’s philosophy of developing younger players and keeping them on long-term at the club, given Rabiot’s age.

Quoted in the Mirror, Rabiot said of his situation:

“I am under contract until 2019 and I do not think that I am in a rush.

“If there are offers from big clubs, that obviously demands that they are considered.

“Clubs like Real Madrid, they are great clubs but, truly, the most important thing is the present and I am concentrating on what I am doing right now, that is the best thing to do.”

Interest from bigger clubs may put pain to the North Londoners’ prospects of striking a deal with the French champions, although Spurs would be the likelier destination for the player to rack-up regular minutes of first-team football. With two-years remaining to run on the player’s deal, however, it may be a transfer window or two too early for the French side to bow to pressure and think about recouping a fee on the midfielder, who received his first international cap in 2016.

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