White tipped for the top
Gallen can see shades of Harry Kane in Pompey loan starlet
JOE GALLEN reflected on Harvey White’s Pompey impact and insisted: He reminds me of Harry Kane.
And, similarly, he has backed the 19-year-old for a ‘big future’ in the game.
Gallen was assistant to Kenny Jackett at Millwall when a teenage Kane arrived in January 2012.
Handed his second loan spell away from White Hart Lane, the striker flourished, returning nine goals in 27 games during a six-month spell.
The Fratton faithful don’t need reminding how Kane has subsequently fared.
Now Gallen has lauded the entrance of Spurs team-mate White – and drawn comparisons between the pair.
He told The News: ‘Harvey’s definitely got a big future.
‘He’s got a lot of ability, but his mentality is also very, very good, especially for such a young player.
‘There’s a realism about Harvey. There’s a realistic person in there and although he’s at a proper club like Tottenham, his feet are on the ground and he’s very humble.
‘His attitude is very good, he wants to do the horrible side of football, but, once he gets the ball, he can do the technical side as well.
‘Looking back to when we had Harry Kane at Millwall and there was a realism about that kid as well.
‘With Harry coming from Tottenham to Millwall, I did think at the time “Hmmm, okay!”.
‘But he and Harvey are very similar people, they have very similar attitudes, a similar mentality. These are realistic people stepping down levels to get games
‘There’s that will to win, a good attitude and then ability. It’s very similar.
‘Harvey has a lot of learning to do, a lot of games to play, but I do think he has a very big future ahead of him.’
White was handed a full Football League debut at Oxford United on Tuesday night.
He marked the feat with a second-half headed goal which would prove to be the match winner.
It represented the teenager’s seventh Pompey outing since joining on loan last month.
And Gallen revealed White’s impression on the training ground was instant.
He added: ‘Kenny picks the team and believes in Harvey –asIdo.
‘The first day I thought “This kid is going to make it”. He has such a realistic attitude about him, he does everything right, he trains well, has the personality – not too shy, doesn’t talk too much.
‘He looks young but doesn’t play young. He doesn’t act young either.
‘I didn’t expect him to score on Tuesday night, that’s not why he was put in the team, and I thought he did very well.
‘He’s going to be a good player in years to come with games and loans.’