Finding a Harry Kane Replacement...
You know who is underrated on the world stage?
I don’t know why he gets overlooked so much.
Maybe because he looks like he has the personality of a wet piece of lettuce.
Anyway, the talk around the papers recently is that Kane wants out of Tottenham - Now, personally, I think there’s a greater chance that I’ll sign for Tottenham next year than there is them selling Harry Kane.
Tottenham don’t sell unless they absolutely have to (or get a godfather offer) and Harry Kane is only 27 (don’t let the fact he looks like a 45 year old accountant fool you).
However, I’ve been wrong plenty of times before. And they’ll have to replace him eventually.
When they do replace Kane, they’ll be replacing one of the most effective attackers throughout Europe.
Just check this out - this is from this season, in the top five European leagues.
Coming second to Lewandoski this season is basically the same as coming first any other year.
In this article, we’ll look at some potential Harry Kane replacements - using SmarterScout.
Finding Harry Kane’s Playstyle and Replacements
I’ve used Smarterscout to find Kane’s playing style - I’ve used this season’s data for this because he’s played a lot of minutes, and is having a great season.
SmarterScout compares a player’s frequency of action (adjusted for time with the ball) against other players in their position.
Using that, we can see Kane’s spider web graph below.
Basically:
He shoots a lot, but doesn’t receive the ball in the box a lot
He plays longer passes toward goals, but doesn’t play many shorter link-up passes
He dribbles quite a bit
He will recover a moving ball when defending
That’s a really odd player to try and find - but if you’ve seen enough of Kane this year, it kind of makes sense - Both he and Son are kind of a fluid 9 and 10.
I’ve used Kane’s style metrics to find similar players throughout the big five European leagues, Portugal, and Holland (and a few others).
The first thing I noticed is that there was not a lot of options - Kane’s style is certainly unique this season. Although, let’s see how that changes under a new manager.
With that in mind - Here’s a few options…
Richalison - A Premier League Option
The Brazilian international is a tricky one. Personally, he’s a player that I don’t rate that much - however, he is capable of some incredible performances.
And when he’s on, he’s unstoppable.
And, maybe it’s just the players around him, but I feel he’s getting a little more consistent.
When his name first came on my list, I was very “meh”. But the more I thought about, the less I hated it. Let’s see how his style rating s compare to Harry Kane.
As you can see, there’s a lot of similarities there, with Richarlison dribbling more and shooting less frequently than Kane.
Quality-wise we can compare too.
While Richarlion’s numbers aren’t terrible, they’re not as good all-round as Kane’s are.
But you also need to consider the emphasis that Tottenham’s attack is run through Kane compared to Richarlison at Everton.
Ritsu Doan
Doan is a funny one - the 22-year-old Japanese attacker is at Arminia Bielefeld in the Bundesliga, on loan from PSV Eindhoven
While he’s played most of his time this season on a wing, he has played as a striker on occasion - when I look at his style numbers, I’m only looking at his time as a striker -not a winger.
In that small sample size, we can see the following:
Basically, Doan is a little more active defensively, and the rest is pretty much exactly the same!
However, like I said, this is a small sample size, and Doan spends most of his time out on the right.
As a right midfielder/winger though, he’d be a great fit in the Premier League - and can pinch hit as a makeshift 9 when needed. However, I don’t think he’d be able to step into Kane’s role as a striker full time.
Regardless, an intriguing prospect - and his cards from Japan are cool.
Luka Jovic
Jovic is a funny one.
A few seasons ago, he was one of the hottest prospects in the world - then went to Real Madrid too soon.
From there, he couldn’t get a run, and now he’s back at Eintracht Frankfurt, where he made a name for himself before moving to Madrid.
He got so little time at Madrid, that I have to use his numbers at Eintracht Frankfurt in the 18/19 season.
And doing that, we can see some similarities to Kane’s playstyle
A little less passing, and dribbling - combined with a lot more getting the ball in the box.
Jovic was an absolute beast that 18/19 season at such a young age. So good in fact, that Smarterscout rated him not too far away from what Kane is doing this season - and better in some aspects!
Now, that’s just using some projections - so I wouldn’t take that completely as gospel - it’s still impressive though.
And Jovic will more than likely be available for a transfer this off-season too. I can’t see Real Madrid wanting to keep him.
Who knows, maybe we will see Jovic at Tottenham - he’d be a great addition to the squad regardless if the price is right.
Honorable Mentions
Nikolai Baden (on loan in Austria from Juve’s U23 side)
Memphis Depay (already off to Barca)
Final Thoughts
Harry Kane is a hard man to replace. However, now that Mourinho has gone from Tottenham, they’ll play different - so Kane’s role should change a little, and the side might want something else from a striker.
It’s pretty clear though that there isn’t really a ‘like for like’ replacement that’s anywhere as good as Harry Kane.
No wonder they don’t want to sell him!
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