Harry Kane believes he is in the best form of his career and has established himself as one of the best strikers in the world after his third hat-trick of the calendar year took him past 20 goals for a third season in succession.
No one can match the 63 goals, scored in 93 matches, plundered by Kane in the Premier League since the start of the 2014-15 campaign, with his current run, of 13 goals in 12 games in all competitions, his second prolific burst of the season. The 23-year-old managed nine in as many outings back in late autumn and, with 17, is level with Alexis Sánchez and Romelu Lukaku as the top flight’s leading scorer this season as he seeks to retain the golden boot.
That weight of goals compares favourably with many elite forwards across Europe and prompted the manager, Mauricio Pochettino, to declare Kane “one of the best strikers in the world” in the wake of Sunday’s haul, with his first-half hat-trick dismissing Stoke City. “I feel that, if you look at my stats, my goals, then I’m up there,” said the forward in agreement with his manager. “Look, I just try to do my best. I like to score goals, obviously I will try and score as many as I can from now until the end of the season. I feel in good form.”
The striker, last season’s leading Premier League scorer with 25 goals, cited the seven-week rehabilitation from an ankle ligament injury, culminating in his return in early November, as timely, offering him a rest after his involvement at Euro 2016 with England. His latest free-scoring run has seen three hat-tricks in a little over six weeks, spanning nine games. “I think I am in the best form of my career,” he said. “I feel fresh, I feel sharp, I feel in good shape. Of course, that injury I had earlier in the season might have done me a bit of good, getting a bit more rest. I’ve had a good couple of months so it’s important I continue that until the end of the season.
“As a striker you always want to win the golden boot. There’s a lot of top strikers up there at the minute – I think I might be joint top now – and there are still a lot of games to play. But, of course, it would be brilliant to retain that golden boot. That trophy is up there in my house, and I would like another one. When people have said I’m a one-season wonder, that’s motivated me. I want to prove them wrong and I know, in myself, that I will always score.
“It’s nice to break that 20-goal mark again. Hopefully I can push on to 25, to 30; that’s always the aim. I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing, the team has to keep doing what we’re doing, keep winning games, and that’s the most important thing.”
Spurs’ win on Sunday maintained the only unbeaten home record in the division, a run which is sustaining their pursuit of Champions League qualification. Tottenham have risen to second place, albeit 10 points off Chelsea at the top, and have dropped only four points at White Hart Lane. “We know we’ve got winnable games coming up,” said Kane. “Although every game is tough in the Premier League, we feel that at home we’re very strong and we’re not conceding many goals.
“We’ve just got to continue that – that confidence. We know it’s the last year at White Hart Lane [before the ground is moved to the next-door site over the next 12 months] so we want to hopefully do the best we can. And so far, so good. So it’s important we do that over the next month or two.”