No room for sentiment with this call

HARRY KANE should not start the Champions League final. It is simply too much of a risk for Tottenham in such a monumental match and manager Mauricio Pochettino must make a sensible decision rather than a sentimental one. Common sense must prevail. No matter what Kane says, there have to be doubts over his fitness. The striker’s last appearance for Spurs was against Manchester City on April 9 and yesterday he revealed he returned to first-team training at the end of last week. He may take part in practice matches behind closed doors but that does not compare to the real thing. Liverpool and Tottenham are likely to go toe to toe in this final and there will be no room for passengers in Madrid. I can understand why Kane is putting himself forward and telling his manager he wants to play. What club captain wouldn’t? But Pochettino has to ask himself: would Kane’s inclusion in the starting line-up be in the best interest of the team? I don’t think it would. Who would Pochettino drop to make room for Kane too? Lucas Moura, whose hat-trick against Ajax in the semi-final second leg got them to this showdown with Liverpool? Son Heung-min, the versatile forward who has arguably been Spurs’ best player this season? Neither of those should be making way. If Kane had been back in training for a while, if he had managed to play in a couple of matches, then of course you’d put him in. That would be a no-brainer. But he hasn’t so he has to be considered a risk. Kane could turn out to be a great weapon from the bench. Pochettino has a huge decision to make and he has to be sensible about it.