Harry Kane’s obsession with proving himself was clear from the start, according to a former teammate.
The Bayern Munich striker is now one of the best players in the world after years of scoring goal after goal, but it took him a while to reach that level.
Breaking through at Tottenham at the age of 21, there weren’t any signs that Kane was about to become England’s greatest goalscorer while shuffling around on loan.
That’s at least as far as the public could tell, but for ex-Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, one moment sticks out in Kane’s development.
The England captain had four different loans before his 2014/15 breakout season with Spurs, with one in particular key in his development.
“I have a picture in my mind, at the old training ground, he came in from one of his loans with his leg broken,” Gomes recalled on talkSPORT, as he was shocked to learn Kane was more upset about missing out on playing time than the injury itself.
He continued: “I have this picture of him coming into the training ground, with his head down, because he had lost his opportunity to play.
“He then became the player that everybody knows and you want to have him at any club.”
Every club did want Kane, including Manchester City, but it was instead Bayern who ended up finally prising away the forward from north London.
A £100million move in the summer has been followed by a whopping 42 goals in 42 games, and Kane hasn’t looked back, despite some thinking he’d never leave his boyhood team.
Gomes was one of them and commented: “No, I never thought that he was going to leave Tottenham.
“He’s a player that can play at any club in the world. He’s proving now that he’s not just in a comfortable zone. He’s a different player.”
So far in the Bundesliga, Kane has scored an incredible 35 goals which sees him closing in on Robert Lewandowski’s long-standing record of 41 in a single campaign.
His tally is the most ever seen by a player in their debut season in the competition, breezing past Hamburg legend Uwe Seeler in the history books.
Kane has also scored seven goals in ten appearances in the Champions League for Bayern and is ready to go battle with England teammate Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid for a spot in the final.
“Jude has had a fantastic season, he’s a top player,” he said.
“I’m really happy for him but it will be another war against his team – but that’s the experiences that we both went abroad to try to achieve, to play in these big nights in the Champions League, to play in these big semi-finals.
“It will be one to enjoy and I’m sure there will be a lot of English fans watching both of us. We have to focus on ourselves.
“Of course, I’ll say hello but once we’re on the pitch, it’s business.”