Harry Kane has been able to flourish in the Tottenham team as he has been receiving the support of manager Mauricio Pochettino, claims his former teammate Chris Wood.
Wood was a former teammate of Kane when the England striker spent a season on loan at Leicester City in order to gain experience. The New Zealand striker also played alongside Jamie Vardy in that season. Now, he is flourishing as a goalscorer at Leeds United, who are in the Championship. Wood is one of the strikers linked with a move to the Premier league in the summer after having scored 22 goals in the campaign.
However, there is a huge possibility that Wood will be able to play in the Premier League even with Leeds United, who have been in excellent form throughout the campaign. Since the arrival of manager Garry Monk, the fortunes at the club has transformed. Up until now, Leeds United have been struggling to even get close to the play-offs. Now, the club are almost close to featuring in the top two of the table, which would give them automatic promotion to the Premier League. Wood said:
“Harry Kane has had a manager in Pochettino who has backed him from day one and he’s worked so hard under him.
“Vardy had the same at Leicester with Nigel Pearson and then Claudio Ranieri. It’s one of the key components to why the team and I are playing well — having that belief from the manager and from the team as well. It gives you an air of confidence.”
Kane was not expected to be one of the best in the Premier League when he moved to Leicester City on loan in 2013. This was the player’s fourth loan move after he had spent time at the likes of Leyton Orient, Millwall, and Norwich City. Only the loan spell with Millwall proved to be anything of a remote success after managing to score five goals in 22 league appearances. Even his time at Leicester City was a disappointment with Kane managing only two goals in 13 appearances. This led to speculation that he may leave the club for a lower league outfit. However, the fortunes of the England striker changed dramatically once Mauricio Pochettino was appointed as the manager in 2014.
The immense faith placed by the Argentine manager has been a major factor in transforming Kane. The striker managed an incredible 31 goals in 51 games in all competitions in his first season since becoming a regular at Spurs. This was followed by a 28 goal run in 50 games. In the season, he has been transformed even more with only 25 games required to reach 19 goals in all competitions.
Wood is hoping for a similar transformation as he plays under Garry Monk. The former Swansea manager was appointed as the new head coach of the club in the summer. The club would be hoping for the renaissance to continue under Monk.
