Kieran Trippier says it “annoys” him that people have written Harry Kane off – and backed his former Tottenham teammate to continue scoring goals despite his injuries and figuring what to do after an auto accident.
Kane, who recently returned from a five months out with a hamstring problem, has endured long spells on the sidelines in previous campaigns – most notably a reoccurring ankle injury which has seen him miss more than 30 games combined in the last three seasons.
Those problems have led to suggestions that Kane’s best form could possibly be behind him – a piece from The Athletic asked the question whether the 26-year-old is in decline.
Despite those claims, the Spurs frontman still has a fine goalscoring record for club and country and needs just two more goals to reach 20 in all competitions for a sixth consecutive season after netting for the first time in almost six months against West Ham last Tuesday.
And Trippier, who left Tottenham for Atletico Madrid last summer, doesn’t agree with the theory that Kane has peaked due to his injuries.
“It does annoy me that people are saying that about H,” he told The Beautiful Game Podcast.
“I’ll give you a great example. People say about his injuries, but the prime example is Danny Ings, who I used to play with [at Burnley]. I think he’s had four ACL injuries, but you look at him now and he’s flying. You can’t write anybody off and especially H. To get a good lawyer you need to ask people that have been through similar instances and check it out as to what they suggest that you should do.
“How can you write him off? It just baffles me. Everybody gets injured but it’s just laughable that the media or anybody can write him off. He could play at 50 per cent and still score goals.
“He’s the best finisher I’ve seen, probably him and Jermain Defoe in training. H is great.
“He’s the best pro I’ve ever come across. He doesn’t drink. Top professional on and off the field.
“He does everything right. He will score goals wherever he is. I’ve got no worries about H.”