Former Tottenham striker Vincent Janssen reckons he flopped at White Hart Lane because of the brilliance of Harry Kane.
Janssen, now aged 28 and playing for Belgian club Royal Antwerp, scored just six goals in 42 appearances for Spurs following his £17 million arrival from AZ Alkmaar in 2016.
And he has now admitted that he was unable to perform at his best level because he was so overrated by the quality of England captain Kane.
Janssen said: “I can talk about it now because I have nothing but praise for Harry.
“But at the time I struggled to cope with his presence.
“It just wasn’t fun for me to be on the training ground with Harry and do finishing sessions.
“He was my big rival for the position of striker and when I faced up to it, there was not really much I could do against a geezer like him.
“I just knew he was so incredibly brilliant. I wanted to be the striker. I wanted to play.
“When I look back now, I realise I should have studied him and should have learnt much more.
“But I was frustrated and I was not able to turn the switch in my head.”
Janssen arrived in the Premier League with a big reputation that had been bolstered by a fine performance for Holland against England.
He added: “I thought to myself ‘how on earth does that geezer put everything in the net?’
“He just kept scoring, he kept burying every chance.
“I came to a point where I realised I had to let it go. This man was just extraordinary.
“But the older we become, the more we appreciate things from the past.”
