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Harry Kane’s best moments at Tottenham Hotspur

Ever since his breakthrough in 2014, Harry Kane has been one of the finest players in English football.

Having struggled to make an impact during various loan spells, many doubted the forward. Even after hitting 31 in the 2014/15 campaign, he was often written off as a ‘one-season wonder’.

Eight years on, and he’s still banging them in at a prolific rate. This weekend, he added two more accolades to his collection, becoming Tottenham Hotspur’s all-time top goalscorer while also reaching the 200-mark in the Premier League.

In honour of this achievement, here are Kane’s best moments for Spurs.

First goal

Tottenham’s 2011/12 Europa League campaign didn’t exactly go as planned, exiting in the group stages after finishing behind PAOK and Rubin Kazan. But if there was a silver lining, it was the emergence of a young Harry Kane.

Aged just 18, the Englishman opened his account for the Lilywhites in an away clash with Shamrock Rovers. Andros Townsend nodded Danny Rose’s cross into his path, and he turned in from close range.

Big stage breakthrough


The first half of the 2014/15 season was going well for Kane, netting 15 goals in all competitions. However, question marks remained over whether he could do it against top-level opposition.

Chelsea visited White Hart Lane, sitting comfortably on top of the Premier League. This was to be one of the forward’s most memorable games.

The Blues took the lead through Diego Costa early on, but this lead lasted just 12 minutes as Kane hit back with a beauty. He picked the ball up out on the left, shrugged off the attention of Oscar and Cesc Fabregas, and unleashed a low strike into the bottom corner from 25 yards.

Shortly before half-time, Spurs raced into a 3-1 lead, and Kane was again influential. Moments after Danny Rose had converted from close range, the striker nicked the ball ahead of Gary Cahill and won a penalty. Andros Townsend stepped up and doubled his side’s advantage.

And he was far from done there. Early in the second half, he collected a pass from Nacer Chadli, turned brilliantly, and fired into the far corner through the legs of John Terry.

An Eden Hazard finish made things nervy, but Kane once again contributed to put the game beyond doubt. He fed Chadli, who found the bottom corner via a deflection.

Terry pulled another back for Chelsea, but this did little to dampen the mood. Two goals, one assist, one penalty won – this was very much Kane’s game.

Derby delight

Kane is the all-time top scorer in north London derbies with 14. This all began on February 7, 2015, with a brilliant display at White Hart Lane.

The derby began in perfect fashion for Arsenal, as they took the lead in the 11th minute. Olivier Giroud’s scuffed effort fell kindly for Mesut Ozil, who finished on the volley.

But the hosts would claim the three points, thanks to a brace by their star striker. First, he tapped in from close range after Mousa Dembele’s header had been well saved by David Ospina.

Then, with injury time approaching, he produced the winner. Nabil Bentaleb swung in a cross, and Kane directed a looping header into the far corner to hand Spurs the bragging rights.

Another White Hart Lane worldie

As mentioned above, Kane has scored 14 goals in north London derbies. The best of these – and possibly the best of his entire career – came in the 2015/16 season.

With the scores level at 1-1, the England international collected the ball from Dele Alli out wide. He proceeded to cut inside and bend a stunning effort in off the post from an almost impossible angle.

Up there with the best

The 2010s were dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The pair put up utterly incomprehensible goal tallies year after year. But in 2017, Kane managed to outscore them both.

This feat was sealed on Boxing Day against Southampton. He needed two to claim top spot, and a first-half brace was enough to get him there. He put Spurs 1-0 up with a close-range header from Christian Eriksen’s free-kick, and got a second before half-time from Heung-min Son’s square ball.

And just for good measure, he added a third after the break. Dele Alli played him through with a perfectly weighted through ball, and he delicately lifted the ball over Fraser Forster and into the far corner.

Not only did he outscore Messi and Ronaldo, but Kane also broke a record. The hat-trick took him to 39 Premier League goals in a calendar year, surpassing Alan Shearer’s previous record of 36.

Champions League saviour

Tottenham reached the Champions League final in 2019, and Kane was notoriously injured for the majority of the knockout phase. Because of this, it is easily forgotten how close they were to a group stage exit.

In their fourth group game, the north Londoners welcomed PSV Eindhoven to Wembley Stadium. If the home side failed to win, they would be eliminated. And they couldn’t have made a much worse start, as Luuk de Jong headed in after just one minute.

Goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet produced a fine double save to deny Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli, while the latter also saw his flick cleared off the line by Angelino. But as the clock ticked on, it seemed as if Spurs’ Champions League campaign was coming to an end.

But in the 78th minute, Kane handed them a lifeline. Fernando Llorente knocked the ball down for the forward, and he kept his left-footed strike low and found the far corner.

They still needed a winner, and Kane was once again the man to find the net, albeit in rather fortuitous fashion. He met Ben Davies’ cross, and his header crept in at the near post via two deflections.

The win set Mauricio Pochettino’s men on a strong run in Europe. Four points from their next two against Inter Milan and Barcelona took them to second place in the group, before getting past Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Ajax to reach the final.

Complete forward

Kane has always been a wonderful goalscorer. It wasn’t until the 2020/21 season when people started to see him as more than that.

It was in that campaign that he scooped both the Golden Boot AND the Playmaker Award, scoring 23 and assisting 14. This puts him in a very exclusive club, alongside Andy Cole (1993/94), Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink (1998/99) and Mohamed Salah (2021/22) as the only players to top both charts in a single Premier League season.

He owes a huge part of this achievement to Son, who he has developed an almost telepathic understanding with over the years. Over the course of the season, the pair combined for 14 goals.

In fact, since Son’s arrival in 2015, he and Kane have assisted each other 43 times – a Premier League record, seven clear of Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba in second.

Showing them what they’re missing

If there is one blot on Kane’s time at Spurs, it was the summer of 2021. Having become dissatisfied with his situation in north London, he seemingly tried to force a move through to Manchester City. However, no transfer materialised, and he remained where he was.

A few months later, he showed up at the Etihad Stadium and produced one of the best performances of his career. He wasted no time in making an impact, playing a defence-splitting through ball in the build-up to Dejan Kulusevski’s opener.

Ilkay Gundogan struck an equaliser before the break, but Kane was on hand to restore his team’s advantage. He got on the end of Son’s cross and turned the ball into the roof of the net.

When Riyad Mahrez tucked home a late penalty, the game seemed to be on course for a draw. That was until the 95th minute when Kane grabbed his second and Spurs’ third. Kulusevski lifted a cross into the box, and the England captain buried his header into the corner to snatch all three points.

Another derby day dagger

Of all his north London derby displays, none were more important than on May 12, 2022. With just three games remaining, Tottenham sat four points behind Arsenal and needed a win to stand any realistic chance of qualifying for the Champions League.

Antonio Conte’s side managed to pick up the victory, and Kane was at the heart of it. The striker kicked things off in the 22nd minute, dispatching his penalty after Son had been fouled by Cedric Soares.

Moments later, he added another to his personal tally. Rodrigo Bentancur flicked on a corner towards the far post, and Kane was there to tap in from close range.

Son added a third after half-time, and Spurs saw out a comfortable 3-0 win. Arsenal fell to defeat in their next game, allowing their rivals to overtake them and claim fourth place.

History maker

And, after all that, Kane secured his place as one of Tottenham’s greats by becoming their all-time top goalscorer. And what better way to do it than in front of a packed home crowd against one of the world’s best teams?

Manchester City were once again the victims, losing 1-0 due to the 29-year-old’s 15th-minute finish. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg won the ball in the final third and teed him up to roll into the bottom left corner.

This was number 267 in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt for Kane, taking him above the great Jimmy Greaves. TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN – that will take some beating.

Not only that, but it was also his 200th goal in the Premier League. Only Shearer (260) and Wayne Rooney (208) have hit this milestone before.

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