Of the two main reasons why Harry Kane’s extraordinary and unprecedented 2022/23 season has flown under the radar is only because of the record-breaking exploits of Erling Haaland.
Haaland has smashed the Premier League single-season goalscoring record, scoring 36 goals from 35 starts, and it is entirely understandable the Manchester City striker takes precedence over Kane’s return of 28 for Tottenham Hotspur.
But the other explanation for underappreciating Kane – that Spurs have had a disappointing season – should never be an accepted excuse for playing down his achievements. In fact, it ought to elevate our opinion of him.
Spurs’ ongoing travails are often counted against Kane, when in reality this makes his consistent goalscoring all the more impressive.
Man City have produced 1,068 shot-creating actions this season, 20 per cent more than Spurs’ 889. Imagine how many more goals Kane would score if Spurs were able to deliver a 90+ point season?
The numbers are incredible - and even more so in the context of Spurs’ difficult season. Kane’s current tally of 28 goals would win the Golden Boot in 19 of the 30 previous Premier League seasons, and if Spurs finish eighth or lower, Kane will become the first player to score 25 or more goals for a team outside the top seven.
Kane’s ability to continually score no matter the performances of his team-mates is essentially a new phenomenon, highlighted most obviously by the fact he has scored in 25 different matches this season, a record for a 38-match season and just one behind Andrew Cole’s overall Premier League record of 26 in a 42-match season.
Most matches scored in a season
| Player | Season | Matches |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Cole | 1993/94 | 26 |
| Harry Kane* | 2022/23 | 25 |
| Alan Shearer | 1994/95 | 24 |
| Mohamed Salah | 2017/18 | 24 |
| Erling Haaland* | 2022/23 | 23 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 2007/08 | 21 |
| Robin van Persie | 2012/13 | 21 |
*One match to play
What’s strange is that Kane appears to get better even as his team get worse in the Premier League. His current season is the best, statistically, since the peak of the Mauricio Pochettino era in 2017/18, when Spurs finished third.
He has recorded his highest goal return of 28 and goals-per-90 of 0.76 in five years, as well as his most shots on target standing at 51 and his best Expected Goals which is 20.5xG.
This season also represents a new peak for his shot accuracy, in that Kane is out-performing his xG by a higher total - +7.5 - than at any other point in his career.
This is perhaps explained by the fact Spurs feel increasingly reliant upon Kane and, therefore, seek him out more often, hence why his 121 shots are 50 per cent more than the next-closest Spurs player, Son Heung-min with 80, this season.
However, it may also be influenced by a shift back towards the top end of the pitch after Jose Mourinho, beginning in 2020/21, who had given Kane the freedom to roam deeper.
Kane's touches last three seasons
| Season | Defensive third | Middle third | Attacking third | Penalty area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020/21 | 9.1% | 48.7% | 42.3% | 11.3% |
| 2021/22 | 9.7% | 44.9% | 45.4% | 12.1% |
| 2022/23 | 7.3% | 47.5% | 45.2% | 12.6% |
But these differences are only slight, and indeed Kane has actually increased his creative output overall despite his assist tally dropping over the last few years from 14 in 2020/21 to nine in 2021/22 to only three in 2022/23.
This season, Kane has played 4.73 progressive passes per match, 2.25 passes into the final third per match, and 1.25 passes into the penalty area per match, which on all counts is his best-ever total and more than any other forward in the Premier League.
What this suggests is that Kane has become more efficient in his actions, arguably moving closer to goal – hence his goalscoring numbers – while still contributing substantially to Spurs’ build-up play.
He is still creator and goalscorer, his goals accounting for a league-high 42 per cent of Spurs’ total in the Premier League and worth a joint division high of 24 points.
There is a good case to be made that Kane is one of the most underrated players in Premier League history, not recognised for his colossal talent because his club do not regularly win trophies.
But he would secure his legendary status if he can overtake Alan Shearer’s Premier League record of 260 goals. Kane, on 211 and hitting 0.76 goals per 90 this season, is on track to do so in another 66 matches – or two seasons.
It is surely only a matter of time before Kane gets there. Perhaps then he will, like Shearer, get credit for all those goals not despite his lack of silverware but because of it.
