‘Harry Kane will not want to miss Tottenham’s first game of the new Premier League season’, claims Harry Redknapp
Former Spurs boss says the striker will be keen to play against Newcastle on August 11, despite his lack of rest over the summer
Harry Kane will want to play in Tottenham Hotspur’s opening game of the new Premier League season, despite his World Cup exploits with England over the summer, believes Harry Redknapp.
The striker is currently having a break from football after a long season, which saw him play 59 games for club and country – scoring a sensational 52 goals.
It has been suggested he and a number of Spurs players who went the distance in Russia will be rested for the beginning of the campaign, which kicks off at Newcastle United on August 11.
Among those could be goalkeeper Hugo Lloris - who captained France to World Cup glory - England stars Dele Alli and Kieran Trippier, plus Belgian defender Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld.
The number of players Tottenham had in the latter stages at the World Cup – with nine first-team stars in the semi-finals – has given Mauricio Pochettino a real headache ahead of the campaign, with Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp recently admitting he has ‘no clue’ how the Spurs boss will cope.
But Redknapp believes Kane – winner of the World Cup Golden Boot – will give his manager a boost.
The 24-year-old has already said he is keen to start the season well and end his hoodoo of never scoring in August.
And his former Tottenham boss told Friday’s Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast: “Harry is one of those lads who won’t want any time off.
“He’ll go away for two weeks and he’ll miss football, he’ll come back and just want to play.
“Some players will go away and say they need another few weeks’ rest and recovery.
“But Harry is one of those one-off lads who I don’t think you’ll be able to keep him away from playing.
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“When the first game comes around he’s going to want to be in that team.
“He’s going to want to be leading goalscorer against this year. He didn’t quite make it last year, Salah beat him to it, but he’s going to want to get that crown back and I don’t think he’s going to want to miss any matches – that’s always the feeling I get from the boy.”