The names of Sergio Aguero, Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku are constantly mentioned whenever there is a discussion of top strikers in the Premier League. While these players are all non-English players, over the span of the last few years, there have been a good number of English strikers playing in the league and competing with the foreign imports.
On one hand, the likes of Daniel Sturridge matched Luis Suarez step to step in Liverpool’s failed title bid during the 2013-14 season and while his finishing is still one of the best, injuries have hampered his game. Meanwhile, Wayne Rooney continues to be a key player at Manchester United and Jermain Defoe has been rescuing Sunderland from relegation’s clutches.
Marcus Rashford dashed onto the scene with great athleticism and finishing ability for Manchester United and Jamie Vardy completed an inspiring rags to riches story by spearheading Leicester City’s title win last season.
However, amidst all these English strikers, one of them has risen right from the academy, nurtured his skill through loan moves and finally arrived on the big stage a couple of seasons back. He is Tottenham’s Harry Kane and over the course of the past two and half seasons, he has established himself as the best English striker in the Premier League.
Here are 5 reasons to prove why Kane is England’s best striker at the moment.
#1 Goals
When one thinks of strikers, irrespective of other yardsticks, the most important one is that of the number of goals scored. Starting from 2014/15, Harry Kane has scored a whopping 65 goals in the Premier League.
To put it under perspective, Daniel Sturridge has scored 45 goals since he joined Liverpool in 2012 and Jamie Vardy has scored 36 goals since 2014/15. Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe have 22 and 33 league goals respectively in the same period.
The above statistics show how much of a goal-machine Harry Kane is and he is head and shoulders above his English peers.
#2 Ability
While goals are a good measure of a striker’s quality, a case can be made when a decent striker plays with a world class midfield behind him, leading to better numbers than the player is actually capable of. Amongst the English strikers, Vardy’s pace is his biggest asset, Sturridge’s finishing ability is among the best and Rooney’s all-round game is well-documented.
Over the course of the past three seasons, Kane has constantly improved his skill-set and it is fair to say he is a more complete striker than the above-mentioned names. Here we have compared Kane’s performances this season with Vardy’s title-winning season, Sturridge’s and Rooney’s 2013/14 season. The reason for it is that we can compare the Tottenham striker against some of his peers’ best seasons.
While he outscored all of them by a mile, he is superior to both Vardy and Sturridge in the key passes, chances created and take-ons % categories. He trails Rooney in these categories and that can be attributed to the English skipper’s shift to a no.10 role in recent years.
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#3 Consistency
One of the hallmarks of a top striker is without a doubt, consistency. Daniel Sturridge’s best season (21 league goals) came in 2013/14 and since then he has been hampered by injuries and has just 14 league goals.
Vardy scored 24 league goals in the title win last season but had only five goals in the 2014-15 season and seven goals in the current one so far. Similarly, Wayne Rooney bagged 17 goals in the 2013/14 league season before the numbers started came down to 12, 8 and 2 in the subsequent seasons (including this one).
However, Harry Kane scored 21 goals in the 2014/15 season, followed by Golden Boot-winning 25 goals last season and already has 19 goals in the current one. Initially touted to be a one-season wonder, Kane has become an epitome of consistency, thereby setting him apart from the rest.
#4 Two good feet
While there have been a number of top strikers who are single-footed, the ability to score off the weaker foot definitely adds to the player’s repertoire. Barring Sturridge, the likes of Kane, Vardy, Rooney and Defoe are all right-footed and the statistics for this season make for an interesting read.
On comparing the best seasons in recent years for the remaining strikers with the current season for Kane, his weaker foot statistics are better than the rest barring Defoe. This once again illustrates the well-rounded game that Kane possesses, making him a potent threat against any opposition in any situation.
#5 Age
After all the comparisons and analysis with respect to other top English strikers, one final factor that points to Kane being the best English striker in the PL is his age. His goals, all-around ability and consistency at the young age of 23 when compared to his compatriots who are 27 years of age and above take the Spurs striker to a pedestal higher than the rest.
The fact that he is outnumbering fellow English strikers consistently and slowly marching on towards becoming Europe’s finest at his age are proof of his sky-high potential and the feats he can accomplish if he continues in the same vein.
If he maintains his level for another decade then he can easily end up as one of the greats of this generation.
The above reasons prove why Harry Kane is currently the best English striker in the Premier League and while in terms of mentality he definitely needs to improve in big games, his goalscoring ability and all-round play ensure he is the current owner of the title of best English striker.
