Kane will have to think hard when United come calling

IT IS rare to find a 50-year-old with three Premier League titles, a Champions League was.trophy and a distinguished international career flattered by comparisons with a 22-yearold playing in just his second full season at the top level. But Teddy Sheringham believes Harry Kane is better than he ever

‘He’s mentioned growing up watching me play and looking up to me,’ says Sheringham. ‘But I have to give credit where it’s due; he has more in his locker than I had. He can go forward, hits the ball as early as Alan Shearer used to and can run in behind, which I wasn’t great at.

‘I didn’t have the pace and power that he has. He can score headed goals, hold the ball up and he’s very strong when he plays against the big centre-half.’

Asked to consider Kane’s weaknesses, Sheringham pauses for almost 20 seconds before returning his verdict. ‘I honestly can’t think of one,’ he says. ‘As a top striker, he’s got everything.’

Today, when Tottenham entertain Manchester United, the clubs where Sheringham is most fondly remembered, Kane will be the centre of attention.

With six goals in his last four league games, the striker and Premier League Player of the Month for March will be again charged with trying to keep alive Spurs’ title hopes. United, meanwhile, are scrapping to secure a Champions League place.

They will have to do so without Wayne Rooney, who has been out for two months with a knee injury. The 30-year-old said earlier this season he was ‘feeling fitter and fresher than ever’, but with just seven league goals, he has been eclipsed by Spurs’s duo Kane and Dele Alli — 20 tomorrow — while Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez have fired Leicester’s incredible rise.

Rooney will instead turn out for the Under-21s against Middlesbrough tomorrow night. He is on course to be fit for Euro 2016 but England’s rousing victory over Germany in his absence last month has hastened calls for boss Roy Hodgson to drop Rooney and build the side around his youngsters. Sheringham does not believe it has to be one or the other.

‘Being the age he is and the running ability he has, Kane should be the spearhead of the team as a proper No 9, which fits perfectly for Rooney to play as a No 10,’ says Sheringham. ‘As a manager, you have to find a position for your captain, your best scorer, and for your best midfielder, which is Alli.

‘To me, that doesn’t sound that hard, but it is about figuring out the best way to get the best out of those three players, because they are England’s top three.’

The outcome of the title race, Sheringham thinks, is also likely to hinge on the form of Kane and Alli against Vardy and Mahrez in the next six games. Spurs begin against United while Leicester go to Sunderland for a 1.30 kick-off.

‘I have to veer towards Leicester because they’re seven points clear, but I don’t think it’s going to be plain sailing,’ says Sheringham.

‘It revolves around those four players staying fit and they have done so most of the season, which is why they are where they are. All four are playing with such confidence that they’re trying things they normally wouldn’t.

Regardless of whether they manage to overhaul Leicester and win their first top division title since the 1960-61 season, there will be no shortage of suitors bidding to lure Kane. Manchester United are thought to be interested, while Euro 2016 will put Kane in the shop window for Europe’s elite.

Sheringham left Spurs for Old Trafford in June 1997, later stating that the club’s lack of ambition and perceived unwillingness to spend big forced him out of the door. He went on to do the Treble with United in 1999 and says Kane would have to think carefully about turning them down.

‘I’m sure there are top clubs looking at him and they’d be prepared to break the bank just because of the way he plays and the way he wants to score goals every time he gets the ball,’ says Sheringham. ‘Should he move right now? I don’t know. Timing’s a funny thing in football because you have to take the opportunity when it arises. If you don’t, another striker might go to United or Real Madrid or whoever we’re talking about and you won’t get the chance again for another four or five years.

‘You’ve only got a period of about 12 years in professional football and, when these things come along, you have to take tough decisions.’

And Kane is ambitious. In his first full Premier League season he was second only to Sergio Aguero in the goal stakes and this term looks set to claim the golden boot.

Teddy Sheringham met fans on Wembley Way as part of Carlsberg’s UEFA EURO 2016™ UK trophy tour. Follow @CarlsbergUK to discover how Carlsberg will be substituting the ordinary for the extraordinary for England fans in the build-up to the tournament.