Harry Kane bagged two goals for Tottenham on Saturday evening as his side progressed into the fifth round of the FA Cup with a win against Brighton. Speaking back in December, when Kane was facing a dry spell in front of goal, Conte backed his striker to once again rediscover his form – something that has now been proven right.
Antonio Conte said: “First of all, I am sure Harry is happy if we win and he does not score. Because Tottenham is the first thought for us and Harry. It is important to have chances to score and we are improving a lot in this aspect. I am sure Harry is going to score many goals. I am sure he is going to have a good performance in the same way he had against Brentford against team we play. I am very pleased for the way that he’s playing. Then I know the striker wants to score but we want to give him many chances to score. I think we’re on the right path to do this type of situation.”
As was well publicised last summer, Kane was a target for Manchester City, but Tottenham were determined to keep hold of their star striker for at least another season. However, City could well make another move for Kane at the end of the campaign as they search for a long-term replacement for Sergio Aguero, who left City last summer. Conte, when speaking in January, called on Spurs to sign a new striker for the long-term.
Antonio Conte added: “I think that especially in this league, because the level is very high and you have to play a lot of games, if you want to have ambition, to be competitive, to fight for something important, you have to have 20 [outfield] players. Two players in every role. For sure, as a coach it’s very difficult to decide to keep Harry on the bench, but at the same time, when you play the way we played in the last period – six games in 17 days – every coach has to have the possibility to make rotations and don’t drop so much the level.”
