Rio Ferdinand exclusive: Premier League legend lauds Tottenham Hotspur for overcoming Harry Kane departure

Rio Ferdinand praised Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham on TNT Sports for their rapid recovery from the gutwrenching departure of Harry Kane in the summer.

Kane joined Bayern Munich before Ange Postecoglou's first Premier League game in charge as he only arrived from Celtic in June 2023, but the new boss has masterminded a revival in north London without the three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner.

Kane clearly remembered to pack his metronomic goalscoring when moving to Germany as he’ has so far netted 32 times in the league - already inside the top 10 best goalscoring Bundesliga seasons ever with seven games still to go.

However, with Bayern losing the German Super Cup in Kane’s first game, dumped out of the DFB-Pokal by third-tier Saarbrucken and sat 16 points behind Bayer Leverkusen in the league, the UEFA Champions League is his only realistic chance of a first major trophy this season.

Meanwhile, Tottenham remain on course for a return to the Champions League after finishing eighth last season, and have also averaged more goals per game so far this campaign as Postecoglou has adapted seamlessly to English football.

“Ange Postecoglou, the big news, the big story surrounding the club when he came in was Harry Kane leaving. Have we really had to speak about him not being here and how much they’ve missed him?” Ferdinand said on TNT Sports.

“I would’ve thought we would’ve been all over that this season but we haven’t and that’s testament to the way this squad’s performed. [Heung-Min] Son’s stepped up as the captain now scoring goals, leading that line and it tells you how well they’re doing.

“They had a period of injuries as well, their recruitment’s been first class so far, all their players are performing and now they’re in a position where they’re rotating and fighting to get into that Champions League place. So well done at the moment.”

Ahead of taking on Newcastle live on TNT Sports, Tottenham are inside the Champions League places, tied on points with fifth-placed Aston Villa with a game in hand as the top five in the table could all qualify for Europe’s premier competition.

New arrivals Micky van de Ven, James Maddison, Pedro Porro and Guglielmo Vicario are among those to star for Postecoglou's side as they continue to build off the pitch too, while Son’s 15 domestic goals put him sixth in the Premier League scoring charts.

Peter Crouch added: “There’s pace absolutely all over, in the full-back areas, I’ve never seen a centre-half like Van de Ven, he’s absolutely unbelievable and in the front three positions they have pace absolutely everywhere so they can hurt any team.”

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