Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jermaine Jenas has instructed Harry Kane to drop deep as England take on Italy in the Euro 2020 final.
The Three Lions host Roberto Mancini’s men in their first final of any sort since the 1966 World Cup.
The Spurs striker endured a somewhat stuttering start to the tournament, failing to score in any of the group games, whilst his positional sense was being criticised by fans and pundits having dropped extremely deep.
He has netted four goals since then with Kane scoring his first strike against Germany before a brace in the 4-0 thumping of Ukraine.
His extra-time penalty then secured a place in the final, but Jenas has somewhat controversially told Kane to remain deep if Gareth Southgate’s men harbour any aspirations of lifting the trophy.
Writing in his Mail Online column, he said: “The Italians love to press and England need to find a way past it. I don’t think we’re good enough to play through it but we can cause Italy’s press serious problems if we take a more direct route.
“Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka are quicker than Emerson and Giovanni di Lorenzo. If Harry Kane drops deep, England will have an overload in midfield.
“Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini will see him picking the ball up in space. But they won’t want to push up because England can then play over the top to Kane, or to Sterling and Saka raiding in the channels.”
As it stands, Kane just needs one more goal to claim a share of the Euro 2020 golden boot, with Patrick Schick and Cristiano Ronaldo having each netted five.
Meanwhile, six would bag him the award outright, with the same amount that saw him named top goalscorer at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
