Lukaku & Kane are in the same, sorry boat... if they don’t stop treading water, I can see them both setting sail

IN January 1995, I had my heart set on a move from Nottingham Forest to Manchester United.

I’d spoken to Sir Alex Ferguson, who had told me how much he wanted me, and the transfer was so far down the line that an article appeared in the Nottingham Post saying I was signing for United ‘that day’.

Fergie then got the nod from Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan to sign Andy Cole and the rest, of course, is history.

I was crestfallen, absolutely gutted – just as Harry Kane will have been in the summer when his move from Tottenham to Manchester City fell through.

Fortunately, I was able to compartmentalise my disappointment. I got my head down and focused on doing my job, which was scoring goals for Forest in the run-in.

I was told to keep working hard and I’d see what would happen at the end of the season.

And after getting to 25 goals I breathed a sigh of relief, went on holiday and left those around me to do their jobs, which led to a choice of Liverpool or Everton.

Contenders

Kane has obviously had a more difficult time putting things behind him, with five goals and two assists in 18 Premier League games telling its own story.

And as his Spurs side take on Chelsea today, it’s hard not to see the parallels between the England captain and opposing striker Romelu Lukaku, who has also struggled with his whereabouts this season.

While Kane wanted a move from Tottenham, Lukaku didn’t particularly want to leave Inter Milan and, as a result, here we are, deep in January, with two exceptional strikers having scored just five top-flight goals each.

Regular readers will know I didn’t buy into the idea that Chelsea would be title contenders just because they had spent £97million on Lukaku.

Because, while he had two good seasons in Serie A, it’s a B+ league compared to the Premier League, which is A+.

So the narrative that he was the final piece of the jigsaw for the European champions was embarrassing in terms of its simplicity, because it didn’t take into account the fact he can be a little moody at times and wear his heart on his sleeve.

Given the issues both had to deal with, I can’t say I’m surprised either are where they are.

And what we will see between now and the end of the season, though, is how good a professional they both are.

If I were in their boots, I’d be thinking 10 more Premier League goals as a minimum would constitute success.

Because if both can get to 15 or more, Chelsea and Tottenham will realise their aims of finishing in the top four.

It’s good for strikers to have those finish lines in sight because they set the antenna twitching.

And it will help both clubs that this is a World Cup year, too, because both men will have designs on winning the Golden Boot with Belgium and England.

Accolade

They will know there’s not much likelihood of them winning that accolade coming off a season in which they have scored 11 or 12, even if the tournament isn’t between campaigns as normal.

That will already have their attention because they will want to go into the summer with renewed confidence so they can hit the ground running next season when they are refreshed, physically and mentally.

The flip side, of course, will come if they limp on at the same scoring rate. Because if they manage just five more goals each then we really can start question their commitment to both clubs.

And I wouldn’t then be surprised to see both situations revisited when the transfer window opens.