Tottenham must rest Harry Kane at Brighton this weekend to save their season
Giving Harry Kane in the midst of a three match losing streak isn’t ideal, but it’s absolutely the right course of action for Tottenham.
It’s admirable that Harry Kane wants to play every match he can for Tottenham. It’s a testament to his appreciation for the club and everyone associated with it. However, the England striker needs to understand that upon occasion, discretion is the better part of valour.
In other words, Kane has to realize that he’s not playing his best football right now. The explanation for his struggles is very obvious. Kane has simply played too much football over the past several months. Expecting him to start the Premier League campaign on a high after a taxing World Cup run was never a realistic outcome.
Instead, Kane’s efforts on the young season have been serious cause for concern. So far, Mauricio Pochettino has tried to let his world-class centre forward play through his struggles. His inability to create scoring chances has played a significant role in the club’s current three-match losing streak.
This puts Pochettino into a very difficult position. It’s obvious Kane needs rest, but the question is when the club can afford to give it to him. That’s not the question Spurs should be asking. The more accurate concern is whether or not Tottenham can continue to run their best player into the ground.
The obvious answer to that question is a resounding no. Kane’s teammates seem to understand the issue quite clearly. Erik Lamela was spot on when he told reporters that his talented teammate is “not a machine.” It’s imperative that other attackers on the club find a way to keep Tottenham afloat while Kane gets some much-needed rest.
Pochettino needs to start giving Kane respite immediately. That means Spurs should head to Brighton on Saturday with every intention of leaving him on the bench. For the record, that’s not a commentary on how good Brighton are or are not. Even if Tottenham was traveling to Manchester City this weekend we’d be advocating for Kane to be left out.
That means either Son Heung-Min or Fernando Llorente will need to step up and take his spot in the starting XI. Son has fatigue issues of his own to deal with. Even so, he’s got to be the player to go into the starting lineup. Llorente’s lack of mobility is simply too restrictive to allow him to start a Premier League match for the club.
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It’s time for Spurs to snap their losing streak and break their dependance on Kane in one single match. There’s no time like Saturday at Brighton for Tottenham to achieve both goals.