Harry Kane's 2015 started in dream fashion. With two goals as well as an assist against the Premier League leaders and fierce rivals Chelsea, there was no doubt who deserved the man-of-the-match award at full-time. Confidence, determination, desire and passion were all on display from the 21 year-old local boy, and with 17 goals already this season, there's no denying that Kane is showing the potential of a fantastic centre-forward, something that both Tottenham and England fans have been long crying for.
Rewind 5 months, however, and you'd struggle to find a single Spurs fan who envisaged the then-rookie becoming anywhere near as efficient as he is in current form, and that lack of optimism was in fact fairly warranted. Having scored just 5 goals for Tottenham since 2011, it was believed that Kane would be an afterthought once again this season, playing mainly in the Europa League to rest Soldado and Adebayor for the league, or possibly even be sold to a lower Premier League team, where he would be more likely to gain minutes.
The career of Harry Kane began back in January 2011, when, as a relative unknown in English football, he was loaned out to fellow London club Leyton Orient, who were in League One. In his half-season there, he found himself being played fairly consistently, and managed to score 5 goals, as well as demonstrate some good link-up play that suited Orient's 4-4-2 formation well. With it being his very first taste of English football, there was a fair bit of interest being shown by bigger clubs in the Football League, who sensed that they could be gaining a good prospect, and midway into the 2011-12 season, after playing and scoring in the earlier stages of the Europa League for Tottenham, he was sent to another London club, this time Millwall in the Championship.
It was at Millwall that Kane really impressed for the first time in his career. In a similar 4-4-2 system that Orient had introduced him to, he managed to score 7 in the league, which was valuable to their relegation battle, and a further two in the FA Cup. By the end of the season, he had become a fan favourite, gaining praise from manager Kenny Jackett in the process, and was rewarded with the chance to play at the Under-19's European Championship in the summer of 2012.
The 2012-13 season, however, was very nearly disastrous for Harry. After a strong pre-season, it was decided that he'd spend the season on loan at Norwich City, which was to be his real shot at Premier League football, and hopefully the final stepping stone in his career before a starting spot at Tottenham. However, he suffered a fairly serious injury not long into his loan spell, and missed out on valuable experience while he recovered. After returning, he was recalled just a few games later, and was then sent out on loan to Championship side Leicester City for the remainder of the season, where he scored twice.
The decision to send him back to the Championship at the time seemed as though Tottenham didn't have faith in Kane's ability as a Premier League player, and in the summer of 2013, Gareth Bale's departure gave Tottenham nearly £100 million to strengthen the squad with, a fair bit of which was
spent on the prolific Spaniard, Roberto Soldado, from Valencia. With him, as well as the experienced Emmauel Adebayor and Spurs icon Jermaine Defoe as forward options, Harry Kane was seen as surplus to requirements.
It was not until the end of the 2013-14 season where Harry Kane began to see minutes in the Premier League, helped by the fact that Defoe departed to the MLS, and both Adebayor and Soldado were in questionable form, and he ended the season with 4 goals in all competitions, with some impressive performances giving him enough support from the Spurs faithful that he was kept onboard for another season by new manager Mauricio Pocchetino.
Despite not being allowed much playing time in the Premier League, Kane saw himself being used as the lead striker in the Europa League, and from the very beginning of the season, he clearly had a point to prove. There was an unquestionable desire from him to score goals for the club that kept faith in him when many saw him as a lost cause. Every performance was better than the one previous, and after scoring a hat-trick against Asteras Tripoli (where he also had to play, unsuccessfully, between the sticks), the White Hart Lane faithful made it clear to Pocchetino who they wanted to be starting up front regularly.
Just a week later, at Villa Park, the travelling Spurs fans once again made it clear that they wanted Kane to be on the field, rather than sat on the bench, and late into the game, he was given the chance to impress. At 1-1, with just a minute left, Tottenham won a free-kick quite a distance away from goal. However, rather than a more likely candidate having a go, it was left to Harry Kane, who put it perfectly past Guzan, and at that moment, a new star was born. The local lad, having endured years of uncertainty in his career, made himself a Tottenham Hotspur favourite.
Ever since then, Kane has been truly relentless. In one game, against Swansea, he covered over 8 miles, constantly chasing down the opposition, and getting himself in the right place for his teammates. Performances such as these have become the norm for him, and with each game, it looks increasingly as if he will remain Tottenham's leading forward for years to come. The Chelsea result makes this seem ever more likely.
The path in which Harry Kane has lead thus far in his career has been quite incredible for a 21 year-old. It's rare to see a player nowadays show so much desire to repay the fans who have shown them support, and it makes it particularly special that he did so for his boyhood club. Through hard work and perseverance, it has got to the stage where many are suggesting he should be called up for England. Quite a rise for a player who on numerous occasions looked set to achieve little at Tottenham.
