Manchester United and England legend Wayne Rooney has claimed Harry Kane is the best natural finisher the Premier League has seen since Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Kane has struck 136 goals for Tottenham in the top-flight, over 40 more than Van Nistelrooy managed in his career, and has hit 32 goals for his country - 21 shy of Rooney's all-time record.
The 26-year-old is expected to break that international record in the coming years, while there has also been suggestions that he could eclipse Alan Shearer's record of 260 Premier League goals.
That would take remarkable consistency over the course of the coming years but Rooney believes Kane has the natural ability that many, himself included, lack.
“I’m going to be honest, and this might surprise you, but I’m not a natural goalscorer. I was never a Gary Lineker or a Ruud van Nistelrooy; I never looked at myself that way," he wrote in the Sunday Times.
“I hold the goal records for Manchester United and England and am very proud about that – yet there have been better No.9s than me.
“Harry is a classic No.9, the closest I’ve seen to Ruud. If I were building a team, he’s the one I’d start with. Harry Kane: there’s my No.9, then I’d build the rest around him.
“In the last two seasons we’ve seen him drop deeper more and play balls in behind and he’s very good at it, as we saw when England beat Spain in Seville.
“But if I were managing Harry, I’d be telling him to stay high as that No.9. His biggest strength is finishing and he strikes the ball so well that from 20 yards or closer he should be looking to hit it whenever possible.”
