Les Ferdinand has named the player he never expected to become as good as they have done when they were coming through at Tottenham Hotspur during his time as a coach.
Les Ferdinand spent just about six years in North London throughout his playing career before joining Spurs again in 2008. And until 2014, he stayed at White Hart Lane.
Tottenham had a difficult few years during the time. However, it was a phase that contributed to setting the stage for their future success under Mauricio Pochettino.
Of course, Harry Kane’s arrival into the starting lineup was one of the most significant events in Tottenham’s history.
Kane needed some time to establish himself in Spurs’ senior squad. It is generally known, of course, that during his numerous loan spells, he showed very little sign of the player he would develop into.
Les Ferdinand shares what shocked him about Harry Kane
Furthermore, it appears that people behind the scenes at Tottenham were oblivious to the fact that they were witnessing the start of one of the greatest goal scorers in English history.
Les Ferdinand said on Stick to Football that although he was always upbeat about Kane, the Tottenham coaches were not fully aware of what a superstar they were dealing with.
“When we had him at Tottenham coming through I remember first looking at him when I first went to Tottenham and said he had the intelligence of a Teddy Sheringham, because he wasn’t quick, so he always played as a number 10 or a number eight,” he said.
“Under Chris Ramsey when he was coming through the ranks he had been played as a seven, eight, a number 11, so that he could understand all the different positions.
“He had that intelligence to know that he wasn’t going to go in behind, so he would come and thicken up the midfield and we would play with one up-front, just operating around that place.
“I said to Chris and Tim that he had the intelligence of Sheringham and the shooting prowess of Alan Shearer, and to be honest, none of us saw him where he was today.” Though we weren’t sure if it would be in the Premier League, we felt he would have a career. “Well, he’s not a number nine in the sense of a Les Ferdinand and he’s not a number 10 in the sense of a Ted Sheringham, I think he’s a nine and a half,” Chris Hughton remarked when he saw him at Norwich, as I always recall.
Few expected striker to become Tottenham legend
Kane’s steadiness while he was a member of Tottenham was especially noteworthy. For the first time since the 2013–14 season, the England captain will not lead Spurs in goals scored across all competitions this season.
He became Tottenham’s all-time top goalscorer before departing for Bayern Munich in the summer. Naturally, he was also a member of that lethal alliance with Heung-min Son.
Kane’s narrative is undoubtedly uplifting for any young person who might be given up on. He’s a bit of an oddball. However, his ascension demonstrates how players can far exceed expectations.
