Though it began with an uncharacteristic miss from eight yards out, Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-1 victory over Ludogorets in Bulgaria turned into a historic night for Harry Kane.
The England captain, who was making his 300th appearance, scored his 200th goal for the club as he headed in Lucas Moura’s corner.
Kane is closing in on Spurs’ all-time leading goalscorer Jimmy Greaves (266) and is already just eight goals behind 1960-61 Double winner Bobby Smith (208).
Jose Mourinho said it is now just a “matter of time” before the “club legend” overtakes the duo, though Kane insists he is not obsessing over the statistic.
The 27-year-old is on the brink of achieving more history this weekend when Tottenham travel to West Brom on Sunday.
A goal will take him to the 150 mark in the Premier League and he is already the Lilywhites’ record goalscorer in the modern era, well clear of Teddy Sheringham (97), Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane (both 91).
How does Kane compare to Premier League legends?
It’s not just in north London that his numbers are impressive. It took Wayne Rooney 406 games to score his 200th goal for Manchester United and Alan Shearer 385 games for Newcastle. Even Thierry Henry did not hit that figure until his 321st game for Arsenal.
The striker has now been directly involved in 16 goals this season, thanks partly to an increasingly telepathic connection with Son Heung-min.
And for what feels like the first time in a week when Kane has received ample media coverage, it’s that form which is now being talked about.
Does he get enough respect?
After committing the cardinal sin of winning a slightly dubious penalty against Brighton, he was widely criticised.
Kane, not for the first time this season, took a good look at the man – on this occasion his former England teammate Adam Lallana – before wrestling himself underneath the forward and collapsing in a heap.
Is it cheating? The jury is still out. People don’t like it. So what? Mourinho was captured on camera telling his players to be intelligent… well, you know the rest.
Very few of Kane’s tally can be attributed to the dark arts. Most of his goals have been scored courtesy of a talent which deserves plaudits, not journalists mocking his speech.
Fastest players to 200 goals for one club
- Sergio Aguero – 293 games
- Harry Kane – 300 games
- Thierry Henry – 321 games
- Alan Shearer – 385 games
- Wayne Rooney – 406 games
It is a curious feature of his career, and an indictment of the way social media pile-ons have overtaken serious analysis, that a player whom the history books will recognise as one of his country’s great strikers should have this odd footnote against his achievements.
Even after three Golden Boots – two in the Premier League, one at the 2018 World Cup – and outscoring Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017, Kane still has a point to prove.
The big question now is whether he will eclipse Shearer’s record of 260 Premier League goals if he can steer clear of injury.
Starting at the Hawthorns, there are still more records for him to break.
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