The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Harry Kane

  • Harry Kane trains ahead of Madrid Clash

    Harry Kane trains ahead of Madrid Clash

     

    Harry Kane has returned to training ahead of Tottenham’s Champions League clash against Real Madrid on Wednesday.

    The England forward missed Saturday’s loss to Manchester United with a hamstring injury he picked up during the 4-1 defeat of Liverpool at Wembley.

    However, he may return against Real, although he will need to be assessed ahead of the match.

    Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino said over the weekend that he was quite hopeful the prolific 24-year would get the green light to face the Spanish giants.

    “With the doctors and the player, we will take the best decision for everyone,” said Pochettino.

    “We will assess him and then we will make the best decision.

    “My feeling is good. But it’s not my feeling, it’s Harry Kane’s feeling.”

    The return of Kane would be very welcome for Spurs, who have followed the emphatic defeat of Liverpool with a Carabao Cup defeat to West Ham and the 1-0 loss at Old Trafford.

    Spurs are ahead of Real Madrid on goal difference at the top of Champions League Group H, both sides having won two and drawn one of their matches.

    Their first meeting at the Bernabeu finished in a 1-1 draw a fortnight ago.

  • Harry Kane to miss Old Trafford Clash

    Harry Kane to miss Old Trafford Clash

     

    Harry Kane is out of Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League game at Manchester United on Saturday. The striker, who has scored 17 goals in his past 13 matches for Tottenham and England, has not recovered from the hamstring injury that he suffered in the home win over Liverpool last Sunday.

    The club described it as a “minor strain to the left hamstring” but it is serious enough to have ruled him out of the game between the teams second and third in the Premier League. Mauricio Pochettino said it was not worth taking the risk, particularly as his team have a Champions League tie against Real Madrid at Wembley next Wednesday. He hoped that Kane could be fit for then.

    “For tomorrow, we cannot take a risk,” the manager said. “It’s a minor injury, very small, but we cannot take a risk. We’ll see after for Wednesday against Real Madrid. Tomorrow, it’s impossible.

    “It is a blow? Yes. You always want all the players available. It’s a problem. We want them available to play. We always believe in the collective, the squad. During the season, problems happen and you must trust all the players, all the squad. I’ve told you the players are not machines and it’s so difficult to cope with international duty, playing every three days. It’s lucky it’s not a big problem but he’s not going to play tomorrow.”

    Pochettino was asked whether Kane had demanded to play at Old Trafford. “No, no,” Pochettino said. “It’s a decision from the doctor and medical staff not to take a risk. It’s no sense to take a risk when the problem is small and we can fix it in a few days, probably.”

  • Perez rules out Real Madrid move for Kane

    Perez rules out Real Madrid move for Kane

     

    Real Madrid president Florentino Perez says he has no plans to sign Harry Kane.

    Perez says he has not enquired about the England striker because he believes Tottenham, who are 1/20 with Sky Bet to keep hold of the striker, would demand a world-record fee.

    Madrid have been linked with the 24-year-old after head coach Zinedine Zidane praised him before Tottenham’s trip to the Bernabeu in the Champions League last week.

    But Perez told Spanish radio station Cadena Cope he had no doubt Spurs would demand a fee in excess of the £200.6million paid by Paris St Germain to bring in Neymar from Barcelona in the summer.

    “Signing Harry Kane has not passed through my head,” Perez said. “He is a magnificent player and in addition he is young.

    “He has many years before him to progress. But we are delighted with the team we have, including (Karim) Benzema.”

    Asked if he had spoken to Spurs chairman Daniel Levy about Kane, Perez said: “No, because if I ask, he’ll tell me 250 million euros (£223million).”

    But Perez added that he has excellent relations with Levy after Madrid signed both Luka Modric and Gareth Bale from Spurs in recent seasons. Sky Bet make Real 8/1 to secure Kane’s signature before the end of the January transfer window.

    “We built a very good friendship,” he said. “Every time we win the European Cup, he told me the same thing: ‘Thank you for winning the European Cup with my players.”

     

     

     

     

     

  • Harry Kane ready to lead Three Lions

    Harry Kane ready to lead Three Lions

     

    Harry Kane says he feels like one of England’s leaders as he bids to be named the permanent replacement for Wayne Rooney as captain.

    The Three Lions are yet to appoint a full-time successor since Rooney retired from international football in August, with manager Gareth Southgate having rotated the captaincy in recent matches.

    Kane was skipper for England’s double-header against Scotland and France in June, before handing over the armband to Jordan Henderson for last month’s games with Malta and Slovakia.

    Gary Cahill, Joe Hart and Eric Dier have also been cited as candidates for the role vacated by Rooney, holder of the national goalscoring record.

    Kane hopes to be named captain again for England’s final World Cup qualifiers against Slovenia and Lithuania, with leading the country at next year’s tournament in Russia the ultimate prize.

    “Yes, I’ve had the armband and it was a very proud moment,” Kane told reporters when asked if he was targeting the captaincy.

    “I feel like one of the leaders in the team.

    “But Gareth Southgate has said he is going to take his time and we do have plenty of leaders.

    “My focus has to be on scoring goals and continuing this form into October. That’s the most important thing – do your talking on the pitch.

    “Whoever Gareth picks as captain, the team will get behind him.

    “We have still not qualified and we have to win the game on Thursday [against Slovenia], and that makes it easier on Sunday [against Lithuania].”

    Kane is coming off a September that saw him score 13 goals for club and country, a return that matched the best-ever calendar months produced by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

  • Harry Kane challenges Dele Alli to score 20 League goals

    Harry Kane challenges Dele Alli to score 20 League goals

    Harry Kane still thinks he has a chance of retaining the Premier League Golden Boot, and says teammate Dele Alli should aim to overtake him as Tottenham’s top goal scorer.

    Kane has missed 12 weeks of the season with two ankle injuries but has still netted 19 league goals — four behind Romelu Lukaku, who scored twice in Everton’s 4-2 win over Leicester on Sunday.

    The England striker returned to the Spurs squad against Watford after a month on the sidelines, coming off the bench as Alli moved on to 16 league goals with a stunning opener in a 4-0 win at White Hart Lane.

    Kane wants to match his tally of 25 goals from last season, but he knows Alli — who has scored 10 goals in 13 league games this year — could yet finish ahead of him.

    “I told him to try to catch me! I told him to try to get that 20-goal mark — for a midfielder that’s unbelievable,” Kane said after playing the final half-an-hour against Watford.

    “If you want to be title contenders, you need two or three players getting double figures and if another player can get 20-plus goals this season, it really helps the team.

    Dele Alli and Harry Kane are on track to both score 20 Premier League goals this season.

    “Dele has been fantastic — to get 16 Premier League goals this year has been amazing. Hopefully he can get to that 20-mark and I can get to that 25-mark and we’ll see what happens.

    “He’s got that mentality when he’s in the box. You saw [when he scored] against Swansea midweek, just that reading where the ball is going to land and getting a tap-in — they’re important. You used to see players like [Frank] Lampard do that all the time. He’s a similar sort of player.

    “That’s what Dele has got to try to do — get goals season in, season out, inside the box, outside the box like today. Scoring all different types of goals is important for him.”

    Asked if he could retain the Golden Boot, Kane said: “Definitely. Obviously I’m still a few behind [Lukaku] but it’s all to play for. There’s seven games left in the league and hopefully I can stay fit for them and we’ll see what happens.”

    Alli is not the only Spurs player challenging Kane to finish the season as the club’s top scorer. Son Heung-Min’s brilliant brace against Watford moved him to 18 goals for the season in total, although six have come in the FA Cup with another in the Champions League.

    Dele Alli and Son Heung-Min were both on target against Watford.

    “He’s a goal scorer. That’s his 11th league goal of the season, right and left foot — he can go either way, he’s got fantastic technique and I think he’s growing in confidence,” Kane said.

    “The more he scores, the more he shoots and feels confident… even after that one he missed at the end [vs. Watford]! He’ll go again next week and be on the scoresheet. He’s also got great crosses so he’s another attacking-midfielder/striker who can score and assist goals, which is great for us.”

    On his ankle injury, Kane said: “It’s probably not 100 percent. When I came back last time for the Arsenal game, it wasn’t 100 percent but it’s getting close.

    “It gives me another week now to prepare and I’m pretty sure it’ll be 100 percent against Bournemouth next week.”

  • Man Utd striker Rashford to join England senior squad

    Man Utd striker Rashford to join England senior squad

    Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford will be named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad on Thursday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 19-year-old was initially expected to feature for the England Under-21 side in friendlies against Germany and Denmark next weekend.

    But with England forwards Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney both ruled out through injury, Rashford will be called up.

    England face Germany away in a friendly before a World Cup qualifier against Lithuania at Wembley on 26 March.

    Rashford made a goal-scoring debut for England in a 2-1 win over Australia in May last year and has collected six senior caps.

    He was a late inclusion for Manchester United in their 1-0 FA Cup defeat by Chelsea on Monday, having been omitted from the initial squad due to illness.

    England captain Rooney was ruled out of Manchester United’s trip to the capital with a leg injury sustained in a training ground collision.

    Also, Tottenham striker Harry Kane went off with an ankle injury against Millwall on Sunday.

    Spurs said the injury is similar to the one Kane picked up against Sunderland on 18 Sept. 2016.

     

  • Kane suffers angle ligament damage

    Kane suffers angle ligament damage

    Tottenham striker Harry Kane has suffered ligament damage to his right ankle.

    However, the injury is not thought to be as severe as the injury which sidelined him for seven weeks earlier this season.

    The England international was replaced after seven minutes of Sunday’s 6-0 FA Cup quarter-final win over Millwall.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that he was hurt when defender Jake Cooper blocked his shot close to the byeline.

    Spurs said the injury is similar to the one Kane picked up against Sunderland on Sept. 18.

     

  • Kane, Vardy, Mahrez in PFA Team of the Year

    Kane, Vardy, Mahrez in PFA Team of the Year

    Eight players from Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur have been included in the Professional Footballers’ Association Premier League Team of the Year.

    Jamie Vardy is one of the four players picked from league leaders Leicester, while Premier League top scorer, Harry Kane will lead three other Spurs players into the team, the BBC reports.

    Arsenal midfielder, Mesut Ozil, a PFA Player of the Year nominee, missed out of the team.

    The PFA had planned to reveal the team at its annual awards ceremony on Sunday but said it was forced to publish early because the details were leaked.

    It blamed a member of the public for choosing “to deliberately leak our representative teams from the official brochure of the awards evening.”

    The players’ representative body added: “As a matter of urgency, we are seeking a detailed explanation from the brochure printers as to how they were able to secure a copy of the publication.”

    Kane has scored 24 league goals this season for Tottenham, who lies five points behind Leicester with four games remaining.

    As well as Vardy, Wes Morgan, N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez are included from Leicester, while Toby Alderweireld, Danny Rose and Dele Alli join Kane from Tottenham.

    Manchester United goalkeeper, David de Gea, Arsenal full-back Hector Bellerin and West Ham’s Dimitri Payet make up the rest of the team.

     

  • Kane hails Dele Alli’s England invitation

    Kane hails Dele Alli’s England invitation

    Tottenham Hotspur star, Harry Kane, has said teammate Dele Alli merited his call – up to the England national team.

    The Anglo – Nigerian midfielder will no longer be eligible to represent Nigeria if he is involved in any of the games against Estonia and Lithuania as the matches are competitive.

    “I will probably spend most of my time with him there because we are Spurs and I want to look after him, make sure he settles in all right, ” allnigeriasoccer.com quoted  Kane as saying to thefa.com.

    “I think he deserved his invitation because he has been outstanding for us this season.

    “He has come in and for such a young lad, has settled very well. I am sure he is excited and everyone here is very proud of him. I don’t think he can wait to get going.”