Harry Kane

Early and personal life

Harry Kane was born in Walthamstow to Kim and Patrick Kane and has one older brother, Charlie. He has Irish heritage through his father who is from Galway. He grew up in Chingford and attended Chingford Foundation School. Kane recalls of his childhood:

In an interview given in February 2015, Kane said that he was in a relationship with Katie Goodland, whom he has known since childhood. He told Esquire magazine, "We went to school together, so she's seen my whole career. Of course, she's finding it a little crazy. I think she's even been in the papers a couple of times taking the dogs out." They have two Labrador dogs Brady and Wilson, named after NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady and Russell Wilson. Kane and Goodland announced the birth of their first child, Ivy Jane Kane, on 8 January 2017. On 1 July, Kane announced his engagement to Goodland on his Twitter account.

Kane does not drink alcohol or go to nightclubs, preferring to use his free time to play golf. Ahead of UEFA Euro 2016, Kane featured in advertisements for Mars Bars and Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, the latter alongside Antoine Griezmann, Mario Götze and Cesc Fàbregas.

Beginnings

Kane first played for a local club Ridgeway Rovers, and joined the Arsenal youth academy when he was eight years old. He was released after one season; manager Arsène Wenger stated in November 2015 that he was disappointed that Arsenal chose to release Kane. He also had a trial at Tottenham Hotspur but was not initially successful. He returned to his old club, and in 2004 he joined Watford academy for a four to six-week trial before he was given another chance at Tottenham. He first played at Tottenham as a midfielder – initially in a holding position, then as an attacking midfielder. In the 2008–09 season, he played in the under-16s side that competed in the Copa Chivas tournament in Mexico, and the Bellinzona tournament in Switzerland, scoring three goals. In July 2009, upon turning 16, he signed a scholarship contract with Tottenham.

In the 2009–10 season, Kane played 22 times for Tottenham's under-18s, scoring 18 goals. He signed his first professional contract with the club in July 2010. Kane appeared on the first-team bench twice during the 2009–10 season. Both matches were in home domestic cup victories: one the League Cup fixture against Everton on 27 October 2009 and the other in the FA Cup fourth-round replay against Bolton Wanderers on 24 February 2010.

2010–11 season

On 7 January 2011, Kane moved to Leyton Orient on loan until the end of the 2010–11 season. Manager Russell Slade was "happy" at his arrival and said, "I'm sure he will have an impact with us over the coming months." He made his first-team debut for Orient on 15 January, coming on as a substitute for Scott McGleish in the 73rd minute of a 1–1 draw at Rochdale. A week later, Kane scored his first first-team goal against Sheffield Wednesday; making his first-ever start, "unmarked" Kane scored from a Dean Cox freekick in the 57th minute as Orient eventually won 4–0. Slade said that he was "delighted" that Kane scored a goal on his first league start. On 12 February, he scored twice in a 4–1 win over Bristol Rovers, after coming on as a substitute for McGleish in the 70th minute. He ended the season scoring five goals in 18 matches.

2011–12 season

On 25 August 2011, Kane made his first appearance for Tottenham, starting in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League qualification round against Hearts, with Tottenham making changes after winning the first leg 5–0. His debut was a goalless match, although he won a penalty after being fouled by goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald, who then saved the penalty which Kane took himself. He went on to make six appearances in the Europa League that season, scoring his first Tottenham goal in the 4–0 win at Shamrock Rovers on 15 December 2011.

On 29 December 2011, Kane and Tottenham teammate Ryan Mason agreed to join Championship club Millwall on loan from 1 January 2012 until the end of the season. After making his debut against Bristol Rovers, manager Kenny Jackett said that he had "very good debut" but was "unlucky not to score". He also said that Kane would "be a good addition" for the club in the second half of the season. This prediction became true as he scored seven goals in the final 14 matches of the season. Kane scored nine goals in 27 matches which resulted in him being named Millwall's Young Player of the Season for 2011–12.

2012–13 season

Kane spent pre-season with Tottenham, scoring a hat-trick in a 6–0 away win against Southend United on 10 August 2012. On 18 August, he made his Premier League debut, against Newcastle United. Coming as a 86th minute substitute for Sandro, Tottenham lost the match 2–1.

On 31 August 2012, Kane joined Premier League team Norwich City on a season-long loan, making his debut as a substitute against West Ham United. Kane suffered an injury, breaking a metatarsal bone, in the League Cup tie against Doncaster Rovers in only his second appearance. The 19-year-old underwent his rehabilitation at Tottenham but returned to action for Norwich on 29 December 2012, coming off the bench at half time as Norwich lost 3–4 to Manchester City. However, with Tottenham having been unable to add to their attacking options during the January transfer window, they opted to recall Kane on 1 February 2013, four months before he was due to return.

Twenty days after he was recalled to Tottenham, Kane joined Leicester City for the remainder of the season to aid in the club's push for automatic promotion from the Championship. He marked his home debut with a goal against Blackburn Rovers, in a 3–0 win on 26 February 2013. He made 13 appearances for the East Midlands club, eight from the bench, and they reached the play-off semi-final before being eliminated by Watford.

2013–14 season

Kane scored his first Tottenham goal at White Hart Lane in a League Cup tie against Hull City, scoring the equaliser in extra time, the match finished 2–2. Tottenham won 8–7 on penalties, with Kane taking and converting the fifth of the nine sets of spot-kicks.

On 7 April 2014, Kane was given his first Premier league start for Tottenham, in a 5–1 win against Sunderland, and scored his first Premier League goal in the 59th minute of the match. He also scored in the following match, helping Tottenham to recover from a 3–0 deficit against West Bromwich Albion before eventually drawing 3–3. He scored for the third match in a row on 19 April, this time helping Tottenham to a 3–1 win at home over London rivals Fulham.

2014–15 season

Kane made his first appearance of the 2014–15 season as a substitute against West Ham on the opening day of the Premier League season, providing an assist for the match-winning goal by Eric Dier.

He scored in both match against Cypriot opposition AEL Limassol in Tottenham's UEFA Europa League play-offs, scoring an 80th-minute winner in the first leg, and opening the scoring in the 3–0 second leg victory after missing a penalty. He scored a late goal against Nottingham Forest in the League Cup to secure a 3–1 victory for Tottenham on 24 September 2014. On 23 October 2014, Kane scored his first professional hat-trick for Tottenham in a 5–1 win over Asteras Tripoli in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League. Kane was forced to play in goal for the final three minutes of the match, after Hugo Lloris had been sent off with no substitutions remaining, and conceded a goal when he dropped a free-kick from Jerónimo Barrales.

On 2 November 2014, Kane came on as a second-half substitute in Tottenham's 2–1 win over Aston Villa and scored his first Premier League goal of the season to win the match in the 90th minute. A week later, Kane was selected in Spurs' starting line-up for the first time in the Premier League season, as the team lost 2–1 at home to Stoke City. He retained his place in the first XI for Spurs' 2–1 win at Hull City on 23 November, scoring the team's equalising goal. Between 14 and 26 December, Kane scored in three consecutive 2–1 wins for Tottenham, against Swansea City, Burnley and Leicester City respectively.

On 1 January 2015, Kane scored twice and won a penalty as Tottenham defeated league leaders Chelsea 5–3, and he scored a further two in a 3–0 away win against West Bromwich Albion on 31 January, including one from a penalty. Kane set up Christian Eriksen's late equaliser against Sheffield United on 28 January 2015, a goal which put Tottenham into the 2015 League Cup Final. His performances led to him being named as the Premier League Player of the Month for January 2015.

On 2 February 2015, Kane signed a new five-and-a-half-year contract with the club. Five days later, he scored both of Tottenham's goals as they came from behind to defeat Arsenal in the North London derby, his 21st and 22nd goals of the season across all competitions. After scoring against Arsenal, Liverpool and West Ham United, Kane was again named as the Premier League Player of the Month for February 2015, becoming only the fourth player to win the award in consecutive months. Tottenham lost the League Cup Final 2–0 to rivals Chelsea on 1 March 2015, which Kane described as the "worst feeling in the world". Twenty days later, he scored his first Premier League hat-trick in a 4–3 home win over his former loan club Leicester; this brought him to 19 league goals in the season, making him the division's top scorer.

On 5 April, Kane captained Tottenham for the first time in a 0–0 draw with Burnley at Turf Moor. Two weeks later, he scored his 30th goal of the season in a 3–1 win against Newcastle United at St James' Park, making him the first Tottenham player to reach that milestone since Gary Lineker in 1991–92. Later that month, he was included as one of two forwards in the PFA Team of the Year, alongside Chelsea's Diego Costa. He was also voted the PFA Young Player of the Year. On 24 May 2015, he headed in an Eric Dier cross for the only goal of an away win at Everton on the final day of the season to confirm fifth place for Tottenham, thus qualifying them to the group stage of the following season's UEFA Europa League. It was his 21st goal of the league campaign, equalling a Premier League club record alongside Teddy Sheringham, Jürgen Klinsmann and Gareth Bale. At the end of the season, Kane remarked that he had done more in the single campaign than he had expected to do in his whole career.

2015–16 season

On Tottenham's pre-season tour of Australia, Kane attracted numerous fans while visiting the Westfield Sydney shopping centre, resulting in the club sending a minibus to escort him away. On 29 July 2015, Tottenham were the guests in the 2015 MLS All-Star Game at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Colorado. They lost 2–1 to the MLS All-Stars, with Kane scoring their consolation goal in the 37th minute after beating a challenge from Omar Gonzalez, and he was later substituted to a standing ovation.

Kane's squad number was changed from 18 to 10, previously worn by Emmanuel Adebayor. In an interview to The Daily Telegraph, he said that he changed the number "to become a club legend". With Adebayor and Roberto Soldado having been put up for sale, he began the season as the club's only forward, and the third-choice captain behind Hugo Lloris and Jan Vertonghen. After a 748-minute drought, he scored his first goal of the season on 26 September 2015 as Tottenham came from behind to defeat leaders Manchester City 4–1. Eight days later, he scored an own goal from Jonjo Shelvey's corner kick away to Swansea City, but Tottenham fought back to a 2–2 draw.

On 25 October 2015, Kane scored a hat-trick, including a penalty which he won himself, as Tottenham came from conceding a first-minute goal to triumph 5–1 away to Bournemouth at Dean Court. Eight days later, he recorded his fifth goal of the season with the final goal in a 3–1 win at home to Aston Villa. On 8 November 2015, he gave Tottenham a half-time lead against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, albeit in a 1–1 draw; this goal past Petr Čech was from his first touch of Danny Rose's long pass.

Eighteen days after that, he recorded his ninth goal in six matches, the only one of an away match at Qarabağ FK, qualifying Tottenham to the knockout stages of the season's UEFA Europa League. On 19 December 2015, Kane made his 100th appearance for the club in a 2–0 win away to Southampton, and scored his 10th goal in his last 10 matches. A week later, he added two more in a 3–0 win over former loan employers Norwich, putting him on 27 Premier League goals for the year 2015, breaking Sheringham's club record. On 10 January 2016, he scored his 50th goal for Tottenham in a 2–2 draw against Leicester in the third round of the FA Cup.

Kane was Premier League Player of the Month for the third time in March 2016, after scoring five goals in four games, including one in the North London derby. After scoring his 22nd league goal of the season in a 1–1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield on 2 April, Kane became the club's highest goalscorer in a single Premier League season, with six games of the season remaining.

Kane ended the season winning the Premier League Golden Boot, finishing one goal ahead of Sergio Agüero and Jamie Vardy with 25 goals. He was named in the PFA Team of the Year for the second consecutive season, as he helped Tottenham to a third-place finish, and UEFA Champions League qualification.

2016–17 season

Kane captained Tottenham in their opening home match of the 2016–17 season, assisting Victor Wanyama's winning goal as Spurs beat Crystal Palace 1–0 in a London derby at White Hart Lane. He opened his scoring account in the fourth matchday of the Premier League season, providing the final goal in a 4–0 win at Stoke City.

On 14 September 2016, Kane made his UEFA Champions League debut in Spurs' 2–1 loss to Monaco at Wembley Stadium. Four days later, he scored the winning goal against Sunderland in the Premier League, but had to be helped off the field after rolling over on his left ankle attempting a tackle of Papy Djilobodji. While manager Pochettino was reluctant to "put a time frame on [the injury]", and that the team "will continue to assess him every day", reports indicated that the ligaments in Kane's ankle were damaged, ruling him out for six-to-eight weeks. After missing five league matches and three in the Champions League group phase, Kane made his return at rivals Arsenal on 6 November, scoring from the penalty spot to equalise in a 1–1 draw. On 22 November, he scored his first Champions League goal in the return fixture against Monaco at the Stade Louis II, a game which saw Spurs eliminated from the competition with a 2–1 loss.

On 1 December 2016, Kane signed a new contract with Tottenham, keeping him at the club until 2022. On 1 January 2017, made his 100th Premier League appearance, scoring the first Premier League goal of the new year against Watford on the 27th minute mark, which he extended to a brace after scoring again in the 33rd minute. In his first match after the birth of his daughter, Kane scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 win against West Brom on 14 January. In the fifth round of the 2016–17 FA Cup on 19 February 2017, Kane scored all three goals as Tottenham beat Fulham 3–0. This meant his fifth career hat-trick, and his second in 2017. On 26 February 2017, Kane once again scored a hat-trick as Tottenham beat Stoke 4–0, his third hat-trick in nine games, and his second in consecutive domestic games. The first of these goals was his 100th in club football. He was named Player of the Month for the fourth time in his career in February 2017.

On 15 April, Kane scored his 20th Premier League goal of the season against Bournemouth on his first start in a month after returning from injury. This made him the fourth player in Premier League history to achieve 20 goals in three consecutive seasons, after Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

On 20 April, Kane was named in the PFA Team of the Year for the third consecutive season. He was also included in the six player shortlists for the PFA Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards. Two days later, he scored in Tottenham's 4–2 FA Cup semi-final loss to rivals Chelsea at Wembley Stadium. In the last ever match at White Hart Lane on 14 May, Harry Kane scored the 2–0 goal as Tottenham beat Manchester United by 2–1 With two games remaining of the season, Kane stood on 22 goals, two fewer than Romelu Lukaku. With a combined seven goals in the last two fixtures however, a 6–1 win over reigning champions Leicester City and a 7–1 win against Hull City, Harry Kane finished as the top scorer of the Premier League on 29 goals, and thus won his second consecutive Golden Boot, becoming only the fifth player to do so.

2017–18 season

Kane scored his first two goals of the 2017–18 season in a 3–0 win at Everton on 9 September 2017. His opening goal was his 100th overall for Tottenham Hotspur, scored in his 169th appearance for the club.

Youth teams

In January 2010, Kane was called up to play for the England under-17 team for the Algarve Tournament in Portugal. Kane missed the 2010 UEFA European Under-17 Championship due to illness, with England going on to win the tournament in his absence. He later moved up to the under-19s and scored twice in a 6–1 victory over Albania on 8 October 2010. Kane played a large role in the England under-19s progression to the semi-finals of the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Estonia. Kane scored the winner against France in the final group stage match to ensure the team a safe passage through to the semi-finals. In total Kane appeared 14 times for England U19s and contributed 6 goals during that period.

On 28 May 2013, he was named in manager Peter Taylor's 21-man squad for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He made his debut on 16 June, in a 3–0 win in a warm-up match against Uruguay. He assisted Luke Williams' goal in the opening group-stage match on 23 June 2013 against Iraq. He then scored in the following match against Chile, collecting a pass after work by Ross Barkley and firing in from the edge of the penalty area.

On 13 August 2013, Kane made his debut for the under-21s against Scotland. In that match, he came on as a substitute in the 58th minute, and England won 6–0. On 10 October, he scored a hat-trick for England under-21s against San Marino during 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification. He continued to score prolifically, with his brace against France marking 13 goals in 12 matches for the under-21s.

Kane was named in the England under-21 squad for the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in the Czech Republic, despite opposition from his club manager Mauricio Pochettino. He played every minute of England's campaign at the tournament, which ended with them eliminated in last place in their group.

Senior team

Kane was also eligible for the Republic of Ireland through his father, who was born in Galway, but in August 2014 he ruled out switching allegiance, saying that he wanted to break into the England senior team.

After a good run of form with Tottenham and being the third top goal scorer in the Premier League just behind Diego Costa and Sergio Agüero with 16 goals on 19 March 2015, Kane was named by manager Roy Hodgson in the England squad to face Lithuania in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match and Italy in a friendly. He made his international debut at Wembley Stadium, replacing Wayne Rooney in the second half of the match against Lithuania, and scoring just 80 seconds later with a header from a Raheem Sterling cross. On 30 March 2015, the day before the Italy match, Hodgson announced that Kane would start alongside Rooney, and he played the full 90 minutes of the 1–1 draw at Juventus Stadium.

In his next appearance on 5 September 2015, substitute Kane scored the fifth of England's six goals in a win over San Marino which qualified them for UEFA Euro 2016. Kane scored his third England goal against Switzerland in another qualifier three days later, which they won 2–0. On 12 October 2015, as England finished their qualification campaign with a 10th win from 10 matches, Kane's shot hit the post for an own goal by Lithuanian goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis in a 3–0 away victory.

On 22 May 2016, Kane opened a 2–1 friendly win over Turkey at the City of Manchester Stadium, but later missed a penalty. He was the first England player to fail to score from the penalty spot during a game since Frank Lampard in 2010, and the first to miss the target since Peter Crouch in 2006. At the European Championship in France that June, Kane was assigned to take corner kicks, a tactic which was criticised by pundits, but defended by Hodgson, who said that Kane was the best for the role.

On 10 June 2017, Kane captained England for the first time in their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier with Scotland at Hampden Park, scoring a 93rd-minute equaliser to rescue a 2–2 draw. He retained the armband as England played France in a friendly on 13 June, scoring twice as England lost 3–2.

Development

Kane's former youth coach Alex Inglethorpe has said of him:

When he first came into the under-18s as a 15 year old, he stood out in the sense he looked a bit gangly. He moved slightly awkwardly, he was a bit cumbersome. But look closer, he had a lot of ability, a great technique. I think he surprised people how good he was. Tactically he was very flexible. He often played in midfield. I remember seeing him once playing as a holding midfielder.

While a teenager, Kane initially struggled in Tottenham's academy, as partially due to his date of birth in July, he was not as physically developed as other players, nor was he as quick. However, he gained the respect of coaches with his technique and desire for self-improvement.

When profiling Kane in February 2013, Talksport said that he was best as a second striker, despite also having ability as a centre forward or in a wide position. They wrote that he preferred to place his shots, although he could also score from distance. The report also noted that he had good pace, but was weak in the air and had not scored on his loan at Norwich. Initially a back-up to £26 million Spanish import Roberto Soldado and frequently loaned out, Kane was eventually made Tottenham's starting forward by manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Analysis

Former Tottenham manager David Pleat described Kane as an "old-fashioned traditional centre-forward". Clive Allen, who coached him at Tottenham, stated that "one thing I'd say about him, which unfortunately you don't say about a lot of young footballers, is that he had a passion for the game. He loves football, he loves playing, he loves scoring goals". His former Tottenham under-21 coach Les Ferdinand likened Kane's movement to their former forward Teddy Sheringham, and the power and accuracy of his shots to Alan Shearer.

Kane's style of play has been compared to that of former Tottenham forward Jürgen Klinsmann, a comparison Kane called flattering in February 2015. In March 2015, Football Association chairman Greg Dyke named Kane as the benchmark for clubs producing young English players. Shearer said that month that the three best strikers playing in the league were Kane, Diego Costa and Sergio Agüero. In November 2015, a writer for the Daily Mail theorised that Kane could be the striker in a spine of Tottenham players in the England team, alongside Eric Dier and Dele Alli.

After Tottenham's victory over Chelsea in January 2015, blogger Chris Miller wrote, "Nobody thought he was the guy who was going to give that performance against Chelsea." In February 2015, BBC Sport wrote that Kane was best as a lone striker, with his "hold-up play and close control" making him apt in other positions as well. Also that month, Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy said that the England team should be built around Kane, stating, "I'm struggling to see a weakness in the lad's game".

Club

International

International goals

Honours

Tottenham

Individual