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Harry Kane earned a passionate tribute from Tottenham boss Antonio Conte ahead of the north London derby where the striker could break Jimmy Greaves’ Spurs goals record.
Head coach Conte described the England captain as “not also a world-class striker but also a really good man”, saying he had deserved the chance to overtake club legend Greaves and predicting he would “beat every record”.
At the age of 29, Kane is already the highest-scoring player in north London derby history with 14 goals, and he has scored in all but one of his eight Premier League home games against Arsenal.
Kane moved to 265 goals for the club by scoring to earn Spurs an FA Cup win over Portsmouth last weekend, now just one short of Greaves’ haul.
Ahead of what would be Kane’s 413th appearance for Tottenham in Saturday’s early Premier League game, Conte said there was more than meets the eye to his star man’s contribution.
“You know very well, much better than me, the importance of Harry for us, for Tottenham, but also for the national team, because with the club and with the national team he has great numbers,” Conte told a press conference.
“We are talking about a world-class striker and for sure he is going to beat every record.
“I think he deserves this, but I want to always underline also the other aspect, the human aspect about Harry, because we are not only talking about a world-class striker but also a really good man, a really good person, and for us he is an important point of reference.”
Kane is two short of becoming the third player to reach 200 Premier League goals, after Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney. Shearer’s Premier League record of 260 goals will soon come into sight, providing Kane does not move abroad.
He is at that stage of his career where the records and the landmarks crop up constantly.
Greaves died in September 2021, and was already an established striker by the time he joined Tottenham as a 21-year-old, having risen to prominence with a flood of goals for Chelsea before having a short stint with Milan.
Kane will probably scorch way clear of Greaves’ Spurs record, and Conte will take delight in him getting there.
“I am sure that he is going to beat this record and he is doing something incredible,” Conte said. “At the same time we try to help him and if he scores, he helps us. This is important to have this exchange of favours.”