Tottenham striker Harry Kane has seen his form affected by failing to secure a move to Manchester City over the summer, says former Spurs player and coach Clive Allen.
Kane will on Sunday make his third start of the Premier League season, but is yet to find the back of the net. Last week against Crystal Palace, he failed to have a shot or register a touch in the opposition penalty area.
Pep Guardiola made Kane his priority transfer target ahead of the new season, but came up against an unwilling negotiator in Spurs chairman Daniel Levy so the England captain stayed put.
Kane last season led the league in goals and assists, an accomplishment the Premier League has not seen since Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink achieved the feat more than two decades ago, but is yet to get up and running this term.
If Kane is to retain his golden boot award, he will have to find his shooting boots imminently with his main competition in Romelu Lukaku, Mohamed Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo getting off to brilliant starts.
And former Spurs striker Clive Allen has suggested Kane might struggle to replicate last season's form as new manager Nuno Espirito Santo's defensive style could hinder his ability to get into goalscoring positions.
“He’ll be really disappointed with the service he got, inevitably that means he drops deeper,” Allen told talkSPORT.
“He plays that role there’s no doubt about that, we see him play it brilliantly last season but I do believe that restricts the number of opportunities he had.
“I think Nuno was very defensive at Crystal Palace and it just didn’t work, we didn’t carry the threat you would have hoped for.”
In addition to the defensive system limiting his chances in front of goal, Allen has suggested Kane's active pursuit for a move to City might "affect" his mental state on the field.
Allen added: “It has to affect him, in the back of his mind if he thought there was a move going to take place in the summer that hasn’t happened, there’s no doubt that has had a little effect on him.”
Despite all the negatives surrounding him, Kane is still one of the best strikers in the league, and Spurs are a better team with him, says Allen.
“I know Harry Kane well since he came in as a kid at Spurs, and what he’s become is quite phenomenal. He is the ultimate professional,” he said.
“He’ll want nothing more than to score goals today for Tottenham. There’s no question there.
“Given chances, he will score goals, and that’s what Tottenham need. If you look at Harry Kane and you as a Spurs supporter think, ‘what would we be right now without him’ I think that would be quite alarming.”
