Reinvigorated Tottenham the reward for risk of Harry Kane’s early return

Conversation moved from Jose Mourinho to his star striker as Kane scored in the win over West Brom

Harry Kane netted after returning from injury (Getty Images)

The conversation was all about Harry Kane after Tottenham’s 2-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion at White Hart Lane yesterday. Jose Mourinho was relieved on a number of counts. The Spurs manager got his captain back and it moved the dialogue on from the manager’s future.

The striker limped off at half-time in the 3-1 defeat by Liverpool last month, the first match in a three-game losing run. Pressure has increased on Mourinho since then. It was a surprise yesterday to see Kane back so quickly after injuring both ankles just 10 days earlier. The suspicion was that the under-fire Portuguese rushed the his talisman back.

Mourinho was keen to play down the notion that he gambled with his selection. He emphasised that the decision was down to Kane. “It is absolutely normal for a player of his level and of his experience to make his own decision,” he said.  “He was ready to do it and got through the game without any problem.”

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The risk, then, was down to Kane. The reward was a reinvigorated Tottenham and they saw off Sam Allardyce’s team easily in the end. West Brom made them work hard until Kane opened the scoring in the 54th minute.

The forward missed two good opportunities in the first half but by the time Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg picked out Kane in the box with a precise pass, the England captain had his eye in. He took one touch and directed the ball into the far corner of the net with almost contemptuous ease.

Four minutes later, as Albion tried to fashion a response, Kane chested the ball to Lucas Moura, who ran from his own half to the edge of the box before teeing up Son Heung-min to kill off the game.

The plaudits went to one man: Kane. “I promised myself I was not going to speak about individuals because I was so happy with what they did as a team to close this negative series of three defeats,” Mourinho said. “But it is very hard to run away from the fact he is a very important player.

“The team depends a lot on him. I cannot hide that. It’s the goals he can score, it’s the assists he can make, it is the link player that he is.”

Allardyce made it clear that Kane’s goal was the decisive moment in the match. Albion’s resistance crumbled afterwards.

The 66-year-old complained that Hojbjerg was given too much time to pick out the goalscorer when a stronger press from the midfield would have made the Dane look elsewhere. “We pretended we were in the right position but we weren’t,” the West Brom manager said. “If we’d have kept [Hojbjerg’s] head down, he would have had to play sideways or backwards not forwards into Kane. That was the first mistake. The second mistake came from marking Kane and then letting him run off us in the box.”

It is much easier to talk about controlling Kane than actually reining in the striker. Allardyce would love some similar firepower.

Spurs players celebrate in the win over West Brom (Getty)

Mbaye Diagne, who had the visiting side’s best effort just before half time, put the ball in the net twice after Spurs went two up but the offside flag was waving on both occasions. West Brom face an almost impossible task to avoid relegation. They are 13 points away from safety and rarely looked like a Premier League side here.  

Mourinho was asked afterwards about the other goalscorer, Son, and the state of contract negotiations with the South Korean. “It is not a problem,” he said.

“In this situation with the world where we are, the Covid situation, I don’t think it’s the right moment for players and clubs to discuss contracts with so many people losing jobs and not working and having difficulties.

“I believe that when the sun shines again for the world, I believe the club and Sonny are going to arrive quite easily to a conclusion.”

For Mourinho, the dark clouds disappear when Kane is out of the treatment room and on the pitch. Spurs are now only four points off the top four with a game in hand and there is still the possibility of qualifying for the Champions League via the Europa League. They have already booked a trip to Wembley to play Manchester City in the EFL Cup final and face Everton at Goodison Park on Wednesday in a bid to claim a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

The season has plenty of possibilities but so much depends on Kane. His presence will probably determine whether Mourinho’s term in north London will be successful. “He is a special player in the history of the club and will beat every possible record,” the manager said. “He is one of the best strikers in the world. There is nothing else you can say.”

It really is that simple. At the moment, the conversation at Tottenham begins and ends with Kane.