Data dispatch: Harry Kane in numbers

Harry Kane is beginning to cement his legacy at the top of the game — his numbers are up there with the very best to ever play the sport. 

The striker wheeled away in celebration after scoring the winner against Manchester City, having just made history. 

The 29-year-old became Tottenham Hotspur’s all-time top goalscorer, scoring an incredible 267 goals for his boyhood club. 

Kane also joined an illustrious list of Premier League greats, joining Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney as the only players to reach 200 goals in the competition. 

We dipped into the Twenty3 Toolbox to crunch Kane’s numbers and highlight what makes him so special. 

Goals galore

The England captain’s productivity this season has been frightening. 

Despite Spurs’ inconsistency in attack this term, Kane still has 17 goals — behind only the phenomenon that is Erling Haaland, who has 25. 

He is clearly getting into dangerous positions, firing off more shots (83) and hitting the target more times (40) than any player in the Premier League. 

Kane’s 17 goals have come despite accumulating 12.91 xG this term — suggesting he is overperforming. 

However, the quality of his finishing accounts for at least some of that overperformance — the Englishman has proven that he is clinical in front of goal. 

Kane also leads the division for headed goals, with seven. This suggests that, despite his tendency to drop into deeper positions, the 29-year-old still possesses the traits of an old-fashioned centre-forward. 

Creator-in-chief

Make no mistake, though — Kane is certainly a modern striker.

As mentioned, the forward frequently drops deep, utilising his incredible range of passing to create chances for his teammates when he does so. 

Across the last two Premier League campaigns, Kane has recorded a cumulative 23 assists — evidence of his creative qualities. 

This season, however, he has not come close to replicating those numbers — which could suggest he has reverted to playing as a more orthodox penalty-box striker. 

Those suggestions may be wide of the mark, though, as Kane has created eight big chances — the joint-seventh most in the league. This suggests that his teammates are simply not finishing the chances the England captain is creating. 

Fast starts

Using the Insight tool, we can dig out some fascinating statistics about just how effective the 29-year-old is.

Interestingly, it reveals that Kane needs no time to ease into games, averaging superior numbers before the break than after it. 

Since 20 August 2022, Kane’s xContribution (xG+xA) per 90 in the Premier League has been 0.95 in the first half compared to 0.46 in the second half.

Additionally, in the same timeframe, his xG per 90 has been 0.76 in the first half compared to 0.38 in the second half. 

Furthermore, Kane has taken 4.18 shots per 90 in the first half compared to 2.85 in the second half in that period.

No matter when he contributes, or how, there is no disputing Kane’s world-class ability — and his incredible numbers back it up.

All graphics in this article were produced with the Twenty3 Toolbox. For more information, please get in touch below.