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Kane made me skip lunch to practice at Tottenham but ex-Man United star was best around

talksport.com, 24 April 2023, 14:59
Harry Kane may have once had doubts over his ability from the Tottenham hierarchy - but definitely not from his former teammates.

Kane is Spurs and England's record goalscorer, achieving both feats this season, but he endured struggles during his early days.

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The 29-year-old notched his 24th Premier League goal of the season during Tottenham's 6-1 loss to Newcastle, with only Erling Haaland stopping him from winning a record-equalling fourth Golden Boot.

Kane is now on 207 goals in the top-flight, putting him firmly on track to rival Alan Shearer's all-time record of 260 strikes.

And it makes it all the more unthinkable that Tottenham, so desperate to keep hold of him this summer, once wanted to discard the Three Lions captain.

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Kane spent much of his early years on loan at Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich and Leicester before breaking into the Spurs first-team.

Tim Sherwood revealed recently that it was during this period that he was instructed to get rid of Kane when he was Tottenham boss.

But he resisted the pressure after believing in his abilities - and it seems his opinion was shared by those playing alongside him.

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Current Orient goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux played alongside Kane at Tottenham Under-21 level and had no doubt about his quality.

In an exclusive interview with talkSPORT.com, Vigouroux said: "I could definitely see it back then.

"Every day he'd be out for an hour and a half, two hours, doing extra finishing which was crazy.

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"Sometimes I'd be the one in goal. For two hours, I'm missing lunchtimes, because Harry wanted to get about 150 more shots in!

"He was an unbelievable finisher, honestly, one of the best I've seen - really good guy as well, really humble, really down to earth and really wanted to improve.

"A lot of players looked at him and people on the outside might not have seen how good he's been over his career but I wish him all the best because I think he's, for me, one of the best finishers and one of the best players.

"The fact that he used to play even in the 10 [position] for us that in the [under] 21s games just shows how actually good he is.

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"People don't realise how good of a passer he is, how good at linking up play he is and to be fair he's rightly one of the best strikers in the world."

Vigouroux was part of a star-studded Tottenham academy, with Kane, Bournemouth's Ryan Fredericks and Sunderland star Alex Pritchard.

But it was a 1-0 defeat to Manchester United's Under-21s in April 2013 where he came up against an incredible talent.

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Ryan Tunnicliffe scored the winner for the young Red Devils side which also featured Jesse Lingard.

Vigouroux however, revealing the best opponent he's faced, told talkSPORT: "I'll tell you who was unbelievable…Adnan Januzaj - what a player!

"For United, what a player yeah, really good."

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Januzaj, who clipped Vigouroux's crossbar that day, found himself on the bench during Sir Alex Ferguson's final game in charge - the 5-5 draw at West Brom - just two months later.

The Belgian burst onto the scene in his first United start having scored twice in a 2-1 comeback win over Sunderland the next season.

David Moyes compared the teenager's characteristics to Johan Cruyff while he was handed the club's iconic number 11 shirt.

But he fell out of favour under Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho with loan spells at Borussia Dortmund and Sunderland failing to reignite his career.

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He left Old Trafford having played 63 games, scoring five times.

Januzaj did briefly revive his career at Real Sociedad following his 2017 move to Spain although he is now at Istanbul Basaksehir after being sent out on loan from Sevilla.

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