POCHETTINO LOVES HIS KANE
Argentine over the moon after striker hits hat-trick against hapless Cypriots
LONDON Wayne Rooney, Alan Shearer and Danny Welbeck.
Pochettino had said he was ‘in love’ with Kane after his talisman’s double against West Ham on Saturday, and he joked he should tread more carefully this time around.
“Now my wife is so jealous — and so is his wife too,” Pochettino said with a smile. “No, I think it’s unbelievable. You know, it’s Harry Kane.
“He has unbelievable skills in front of goal. He has something special. That is why he is one of the best.
“All the strikers at his level have something special in front of goal. They are killers. Harry has this special skill.”
When asked whether Kane is on the same level as four-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, the Argentine coach did not give a straight answer but did laud the Englishman as one of the best.
“He scored three goals, he is one of the best, he is unbelievable,” he said after Kane reached 34 goals for his club during the calendar year, three more than the Portuguese.
But Pochettino would not be drawn on whether he would swap Real Madrid’s mercurial number seven for 24-year-old Kane.
“Cristiano is fantastic and one of the best. Harry is one of the best and can improve because he is still young. Both are fantastic, they are the types of players you want in your team.”
Meanwhile, Manchester City have suffered a huge setback after Pep Guardiola confirmed that his new £52 million (RM295 million) signing Benjamin Mendy will be out of action for ‘months’ with a knee injury.
Mendy missed Tuesday night’s Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk after limping off against Crystal Palace at the weekend.
The France left back will fly to Barcelona for more tests, but Guardiola admits he fears the worst after losing Ilkay Gudogan to a knee injury for nine months last season.
Asked if Mendy’s injury will force him into the transfer market for a new defender in January, Guardiola replied: “We will see. We thought next summer about looking for another left back, another replacement.
“We have alternatives in our squad in Danilo, Fabian Delph, Fernandinho, and even Oleksandr Zinchenko.” Agencies