Why aren’t Tottenham’s young guns ready to step up in Kane’s absence?

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Harry Kane’s initial Tottenham opportunity came because the club’s senior striking options – Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado – were simply not up to standard.

Much has changed at the club since then, but the current landscape in attack bears some resemblance to that situation at present.

The major difference is that Kane has established himself as the best striker in world football, but the options beyond him – much like Adebayor and Soldado – simply are not good enough.

It has been no secret for some time that Fernando Llorente and Vincent Janssen are incapable of filling the breach in the event that Kane was ruled out for any length of time – which is exactly what has happened, as he is sidelined until March with an ankle injury.

But while Kane was champing at the bit as a young player when the striking situation was dire, Tottenham’s next generation of youngsters are not in prime position to deputise.

Reo Griffiths was highly-rated before his summer departure and Kazaiah Sterling and Shayon Harrison are still at the club and could emulate Kane by forcing themselves ahead of more experienced but substandard options.

Tottenham have long since needed a reliable replacement for Kane and Sterling and Harrison should have been busting a gut to be the next cab off the rank in Mauricio Pochettino’s worst-case scenario surrounding his talisman.

It’s not clear why they aren’t, but for a club with Tottenham’s strong recent record of youth development, it’s a disappointment.