Lucas Moura deserves some blame for Harry Kane’s slump
Lucas Moura’s emergence at Tottenham has cost Harry Kane some scoring chances. The two need to work more on creating chances for one another.
Every pundit in England is trying to analyze Harry Kane to figure out what’s wrong with the Tottenham striker. The obvious answer is fatigue, but that isn’t the whole story. One thing no one else is discussing is how Kane is struggling to play alongside Lucas Moura.
Yes, that means the talented Brazilian deserves some blame for Kane’s struggles. No, it does not mean he should stop his aggressive attempts to score goals on his own. It only means that the two players need some time to figure out how to play together.
While Kane is struggling, Lucas has arguably been the club’s top attacker on the young season. He leads the club with three goals on the season and grades out with the top Whoscored.com player rating for Spurs at 7.43. There’s no question he’s been a bright light in an otherwise gloomy campaign.
His negative impact on Kane is subtle, but it’s important nonetheless. Lucas has taken up Kane’s previous spot as the spear of Mauricio Pochettino’s high press. He’s done an excellent job of harassing the opposition in that role, but it does displace Kane from his comfort zone. Instead, the England striker functions more like a winger when the opposition has the ball.
That sounds fine, but it presents problems when Spurs are able to win the ball back and strike out on the counter attack. Instead of running towards goal from a centralized position, Kane is forced to try to create chances from the flank. Clearly, his lack of foot speed makes that a bit of an issue.
Lucas’ ability to win the ball and attack the defence directly only compounds the problem. There have been several occasions this season where Lucas has broken free on goal faster than Kane can get anywhere near the play. That will continue to have a negative impact on his goal output if it continues.
Add it all up and it’s an interesting jigsaw puzzle for Pochettino to try to fix. He knows that asking Lucas to be less aggressive would be a colossal error. The Brazilian has too much talent and attacking verve to try to rein in. Instead, Pochettino must figure out how to get Kane further forward before Tottenham win the ball back.
Next. Pochettino needs Spurs to disrespect Brighton. dark
Don’t be surprised if Lucas and Kane start pressing together or alternating their duties at the point of attack as the season progresses. That won’t completely solve Kane’s scoring drought, but it will be a massive step in the right direction for Spurs.