Harry Kane ‘no good to anyone’ in current role, claims pundit after noticing what Tottenham striker ‘doesn’t do’

Harry Kane looks easy to defend against at present, according to a former Premier League centre-half who feels the England captain needs to change the territory he plays in.

Kane is captaining England at the World Cup in Qatar, but is yet to score despite winning the Golden Boot at the previous edition in Russia back in 2018. Having gone into the tournament on the back of 13 goals this season for Tottenham Hotspur, expectations should be higher for the striker.

The next chance for Kane to open his account in Qatar will be on Tuesday, when England face Wales. But to make an impact, one pundit has urged the Spurs star to adjust his approach.

According to former Arsenal defender Tony Adams, Kane is playing too deep – something he has developed in his club game too, it could be argued – and needs to start thinking about exploiting spaces that will cause more problems for defenders.

Adams told The Sun: “Honestly, if I was a defender at this World Cup I would absolutely love playing against Harry Kane.

“He doesn’t get in behind the defence and he doesn’t face you up. He’s a link player who is going deeper and deeper to get the ball.

“Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling on either side of him do face people up and take the ball to them, but they’re not getting in behind either and there are no crosses coming in for Kane where he can be dangerous.

“People probably feel I’ve got it in for Harry after I also said we should take the captaincy off him and give it to Declan Rice.

“But that isn’t the case at all. And it’s not an Arsenal-Spurs thing either.

“We need Harry Kane, he is obviously one of the best strikers in the world, you only have to look at his numbers, but if I was a centre-back up against him in Qatar I’d have a cigar on.

“What I always feared was forwards with pace who could get in the spaces behind and force me to chase them.

“That scared the living daylights out of me, I hated it, but Kane doesn’t do that. And if he was running at me I’d be able to deal with that because he’s not going to have the pace to get round me.”

Harry Kane needs to be in and around box

For Tottenham, Kane has impressed when dropping deeper to become more of a creative force than a focal point, which he is obviously capable of being as well.

However, his role with England still seems to be a work in progress. This World Cup though is the one in which he should be at his peak, so he will have to sharpen up soon.

According to Adams, Kane should be looking at Alan Shearer as an example to follow in his later career. Specifically, he needs to get closer to the opposition box to link up with his teammates.

Adams added: “Harry’s 29 now and isn’t going to get any quicker so, like Shearer, he needs players to feed him.

“Where I want to see Harry is on the edge of the box, holding the ball up, pivoting and laying it off the way Shearer could do and Alan Smith did for us at Arsenal.

“Then he has to get in the penalty area and hope we finally start putting some crosses in. That’s where I want to see him, not 10 yards inside his own half. He’s no good to anyone there.

“We’re not playing to his strengths. The only time he’ll come to life and be a threat is from a set piece at the moment.”

Incidentally, Kane is not the only Tottenham forward to come under fire for what he has been doing at the World Cup…