Liverpool academy chief Alex Inglethorpe has shared his memories of working with Harry Kane at Tottenham, revealing a crucial intervention from Brad Friedel.
Kane came through the ranks at Tottenham, making his first team debut in the 2011/12 season before going on to become England and Spurs' all-time top scorer. In his early days at the club, he worked alongside Inglethorpe, who was youth manager between 2006 and 2012 before moving on to Liverpool.
They worked closely together in that time, but Inglethorpe had departed before Kane was able to show the world class ability which he displays today. Speaking earlier this week, he revealed how a comment from Brad Friedel changed the way Kane was viewed among Spurs coaches, with the ex-Liverpool and Spurs goalkeeper comparing Kane to former teammate Robbie Fowler.
Speaking to Fowler and presenter Peter McDowall, Inglethorpe revealed his thoughts on teenage Kane on the We Are Liverpool podcast, saying: "So at 14 years of age, Harry was nowhere near top of the group and I think anyone at Tottenham would think at 16, good player, 17, I like him.
"At Tottenham, it was Brad Friedel who got us all thinking about Harry because one day he's come in after training, sat down with me and John McDermott, who was director, at the time, he said: 'Young lad, Kane, finishes like Fowler. He's got the same finishing technique as Robbie.'
"We looked at each other and thought 'woah', we knew he was good but there's no better compliment since then there was a different light on him because of that reference Brad give him. I'm not saying that's what got him in the first-team but there was a feeling of 'oh'."
The forward made four loan moves between 2010 and 2013 before he became first choice centre forward under Tim Sherwood, before Mauricio Pochettino truly got the best out of the Englishman from 2014 onwards. Since then, he has won three Premier League Golden Boots and become England captain.
He has also gone on to become the current third top-scorer of all-time in the Premier League, beating Fowler's 163 goals with his remarkable record of 206 strikes before the age of 30.
While he has become a Spurs legend, this could be the last season we see him in North London with the club likely to face interest from Manchester United and Bayern Munich.
