Defoe: I was 5-a-side hero for young Kane & didn’t even know it

STAR striker Jermain Defoe inspired Harry Kane by joining in a kickabout with the England hat-trick star when Kane was an 11-year-old.

Then-tottenham striker Defoe, now 35, pulled up in his black Range Rover as Harry and his mates were playing a five-a-side match and asked to join in.

But Defoe said he had forgotten all about it until Kane reminded him years afterwards when they were both playing for Spurs.

Defoe told GMTV how he was driving from training through Chingford, Essex, when he “saw a group of young friends playing five-a-side”.

The England star, who won 57 international caps, said: “I got out to join in and they said: ‘Is this really happening?’ I played for an hour. When Harry told me, I said: ‘Really? That’s crazy.’”

He said at Spurs Kane, 24, now England captain, made a big impression on him adding: “He just had that appetite for goals. He was always confident and such a nice kid – and scoring is second nature to him.”

Bournemouth striker Defoe, awarded an OBE this month for his charity work, also told the ITV show of his “special” bond with Sunderland mascot Bradley Lowery, who died last year of neuroblastoma – a rare form of cancer – at the age of six.

He has dedicated his OBE to Bradley and said: “It was tough. I knew the inevitable was going to happen.

“I just wanted to be there for him. All he wanted was just a cuddle.”