HARRY IS AN INSPIRATION TO TANGANGA
JAPHET TANGANGA has hailed Harry Kane as his inspiration in making the grade at Tottenham.
England striker Kane may be involved in a bitter scrap to exit the north Londoners but, for homegrown defender Tanganga, he remains an amazing shining light.
Twice forced out on loan, Kane’s own climb to the N17 summit – and beyond – was no glorious breeze early on.
These days, of course, the £150million-rated Manchester City target, who may be left out again for today’s trip to Wolves, is one of the planet’s most feared and prolific marksmen.
Which is why local Spurs lad Tanganga (inset) holds Kane (right) in such high regard – no matter the latter’s desperate on-going fight to get to the Etihad before deadline day.
Hackney-born Tanganga,
22, said: “Harry Kane is a world-class striker and to know that he came from the place that I’ve come from, and gone on to where he is, is inspirational.
“Especially in him working under some of the coaches that I worked under whilst I was in the Academy. It gives me that extra boost, extra push, to know that it can be done. That’s great motivation. It’s a push seeing someone do the same thing.”
As for Kane playing a part at Molineux this afternoon, Tanganga added: “In training he’s been sharp, fit again, and ready to be called upon if needed.
“You look at his stats, the goals, the way he plays, he’s a phenomenal player. When he’s scoring the goals, he makes the team’s job easier.”
Like Kane, Tanganga’s emergence has not been straightforward. Following a superb debut against Liverpool 20 months ago the England Under-21 full-back has made only 12 more league appearances. Injuries have not helped but last weekend Tanganga, 22, returned to deliver a sensational display in the 1-0 win over Pep Guardiola’s City that kicked off Nuno Espirito Santo’s reign in such fine style.
Moving forward, the obvious goal is keeping himself in the first-team picture under the Portuguese coach.
“Being a young footballer breaking through is one of the hardest things – but the other hardest thing is to stay there,” he explained. “The league is a very demanding place – and your body needs to be at the level all the time or it will break down. I’ve experienced that.”
Certainly, the brutal way he snuffed out £100million England winger Jack Grealish this time last week suggests he is on the right track,
He went on: “It’s my approach to be aggressive. Managers want me to bring it onto the pitch, especially against players who are world class.”
As for his Spurs future, he is taking nothing for granted after being linked with Turkish giants Galatasaray over the summer.
Tanganga said: “What I’ve learned from my time in the first team is that football changes a lot, quite quickly.
“My focus is I am at Spurs and ready to be called upon.”