Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has hit out at critics claiming that Harry Kane will struggle to find his best form under the Portuguese.
Recently, Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson claimed that Mourinho’s tactics could stifle Kane’s form.
Merson said: “I think Kane will have a serious think at the end of the season, I really do. I don’t see him getting 25-30 goals next season with the way Jose will want to play.”
Mourinho has now explained that Kane has struggled with injuries over the last few months and his poor performance against Manchester United had nothing to do with the tactics.
As per the Spurs boss, once the England international is fit and fresh, he will start scoring goals again.
Mourinho also explained that he has worked with several top class players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Karim Benzema, Diego Milito and Zlatan Ibrahimovic over the years and all of those players have managed to score lots of goals under him.
He said: “I can say that I had a few strikers that played for me and they are not bad. I had one guy called [Didier] Drogba. He played for me [over] four seasons. He scored 186 goals which gives an average of 46 goals per season (sic 187 games, 73 goals).
“I had one guy that is not also bad – he [Ronaldo] plays for Juventus now. He played for me [during] three seasons. He scored 168 goals, which gives an average of 56 goals per season.
“I had another guy who is not also bad called Karim Benzema. He played for me [during] three seasons. He was not always starting because he was quite young at that time. But he scored for me 78 goals in three season which gives a 26-goal average per season.
“I had another one called [Diego] Milito. He played one season for me [and] he scored 30 goals. He won three titles and of course the average is 30 [per season].
“I had another guy that played for me [over] one and a half seasons. I say one and half because in the other half he had a big injury. A tall guy called Zlatan [Ibrahimovic]. He played one and a half seasons. He scored 58 goals which gives a 29-goal average per season.
To be fair, there is no evidence to suggest that Mourinho stifles his strikers. He managed to get the best out of Diego Costa as well.
It will be interesting to see if Harry Kane can adapt to his methods soon and start delivering on a consistent basis. The Spurs ace is one of the best strikers in the world and the sooner he returns to form, the better it is for Mourinho and the club.
Meanwhile, Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho has made an interesting revelation about Steven Bergwijn’ transfer.
The Dutch winger joined the club in January and he has been quite impressive for the Londoners so far.
However, Jose Mourinho has now claimed that Bergwijn wasn’t his preferred target during the winter window but the signing has worked out well and he is happy with the player’s impact.
The winger will certainly be motivated to hear that his manager is pleased with his contributions so far.
Mourinho said (quotes via Football London): “Good player, good professional, good boy. Congratulations to my club, the way they did it. Initially, and I’m always very honest on this, he wasn’t my first option when we decided to make a movement in the winter, but in the end, a great decision.
“A player with a great future, can play on the right and the left. We’re more than happy, not just his age, but also his professional attitude. The way he trains, the way he lives. He’s the kind of kid that can only be better.”
Bergwijn seems to have settled into English football with ease and the fans will be expecting him to be a key player for the team next season.
The former PSV ace will look to build on his good start and finish this season strongly now.
He has provided some much-needed injection of pace, flair and goals to the Tottenham attack since joining the club.
Bergwijn has three goals in his six Premier League appearances so far.
The 22-year-old can play on both flanks but he has mostly played as a left-winger for Tottenham. If he manages to perform the way he has till now, he will certainly make that position his own in the coming months.
