Tottenham's Harry Kane is the Premier League's top finisher so far this season
Thursday 8 December 2016 10:14, UK
Harry Kane's clinical finishing this season sets him apart among Premier League strikers. Wasteful Manchester United must be envious. Here, Peter Smith looks at how the Tottenham ace compares to Jose Mourinho's mis-firing forwards...
There were celebrations in north London last week when Harry Kane signed a new long-term deal with Tottenham.
His rapid progress under Mauricio Pochettino had attracted admirers at home and abroad but Kane's contract - which runs until 2022 - reflects Spurs' belief that their future success depends on keeping their academy product in their ranks.
Last season's Premier League top scorer has played an integral role during Pochettino's two-and-a-half year tenure and the Argentine has said he can become a club icon, as Steven Gerrard did at Liverpool and John Terry is at Chelsea.
"He is special on the pitch and special off it. The club recognise his value," Pochettino said after Kane signed his new contract. "It was very important for us to make this happen. He is one of the best strikers in the world."
Kane scored 25 times in the top flight in 2015/16 but this term he's been even more deadly in front of goal - despite injury limiting his game time.
So far he has seven goals in nine appearances and he marked his new contract with a double in Saturday's 5-0 thrashing of Swansea. It works out as a goal every 96.1 minutes and means he's the most frequent scorer in the Premier League this season.
When it comes to taking his chances, Kane stands above the rest of the league's top forwards.
He has converted six out of his seven clear-cut chances this season, openings defined by Opta as moments when a player would reasonably be expected to score, such as one-on-ones.
In total, 10 players have scored more than five goals in the Premier League this season. None of them can get close to Kane's big-chance conversion rate of 85.71 per cent. Crystal Palace's Christian Benteke is second among those players with 66.67 per cent, converting six of his nine big chances.
Alexis Sanchez (62.5 per cent), Sergio Aguero (60) and Diego Costa (50), the league's three leading scorers, are some way off too.
But the contrast with Manchester United's lead striker this season, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, is stark.
The Swede has scored eight goals in his debut Premier League season so far - but should have had a lot more.
Finishing has been a clear problem for United under Jose Mourinho. They had 79 shots against Stoke, Burnley and West Ham at Old Trafford and managed just two goals and three points from those fixtures. Ibrahimovic has to take his share of the blame.
He has had more big chances than any other player in the division - 12. Yet he's scored just three of those opportunities. His 25 per cent conversion rate of clear-cut chances is far worse than other forwards to have scored over five goals. Aside from Arsenal's Theo Walcott (45.5 per cent) the other eight forwards with that many goals have at least a 50-50 conversion rate.
It's tempting to wonder where United would be in the table right now if they had acted on summer transfer window speculation linking them with a big-money move for Kane.
The England striker has the best shot conversion rate (30.43 per cent) of any forward at Tottenham or United this season - and the signs are he's improving.
While there is plenty of football still to be played this season, his shooting stats are up on his standout 2016/17. Last year he scored 17 of his 35 big chances - a 48.57 per cent conversion rate. That's modest compared to his efforts this term but only five strikers to have scored 10 goals were more clinical last season.
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Kane's dreaming big at Tottenham and has outlined his ambition to win both the Premier League and Champions League with the club during his career. More immediately he's set to be a major threat at Old Trafford on Sunday.
In 28 Premier League games involving Spurs and United this season, on just five occasions have they conceded more than once. That suggests their Sky Live clash this weekend could be a tight affair - and, in a game of fine margins, it will be the team which seizes their rare openings that will come out on top.
Kane's cutting edge could prove decisive.
