Real Madrid vs Tottenham Hotspur - Zidane hails Harry Kane as 'complete player'

Posted Tuesday, October 17, 2017 by PA

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has hailed Tottenham's Harry Kane as the "complete player" ahead of Tuesday's crunch Champions League clash between the sides.

But Zidane would not be drawn on any future move for the 24-year-old, who is regarded as one of the deadliest finishers in Europe after scoring 15 goals in his last 11 games.

Gareth Bale, who will not face his former club due to a calf injury, and Luka Modric swapped Spurs for Madrid in 2013 and 2012 respectively, and Kane has been linked with following suit.

"I don't know what will happen in the future," Zidane said. "But in the present, what he is doing has made him a very important player, a key player.

"He is very good at everything. But what he does, he always does it towards the goal, so to speak. He does not just stay (still) on the field, but he always attacks space at speed.

"He is a complete player. He did not seem to be one (at first), but in the end, he is."

Kane already has five goals from Tottenham's opening two group games against Borussia Dortmund and Apoel Nicosia, with some billing this week's meeting at the Santiago Bernabeu as a showdown between him and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo scored the winner in Madrid's 2-1 win over Getafe on Saturday while Marca, a football newspaper in the Spanish capital, even pictured Kane's face on its Monday front page, together with the headline 'Harry el Fuerte', meaning 'Harry the Strong'.

"We know he is a very good player and things are going well for him but Tottenham is not just Kane - they are a very good team and we will prepare for the game very well," Zidane said.

"We are playing against a very good team and that is good for us - it encourages us to play a good match.

"Tottenham has always been a great club, but they are constantly improving and they have a great coach. It will be a good game between two strong teams. It will be the group final."

Mateo Kovacic is still out with a knee injury and Dani Carvajal is recovering from a heart problem but goalkeeper Keylor Navas is hoping to shake off a thigh strain and could return.

Tottenham and Madrid are the early front-runners in Group H, having taken maximum points from their opening two games while Borussia Dortmund and Apoel Nicosia are yet to get off the mark.

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino has a problem, however, at left-back with Ben Davies still too ill even to travel and Danny Rose short of match fitness following almost nine months out with a knee injury.

It means Jan Vertonghen could fill in on the left side of a back four or, if Pochettino prefers to play with wing-backs, Kieran Trippier and Son Heung-min have played that role in the past.

Mousa Dembele, meanwhile, is pushing for a start, having recovered from an ankle problem.

"To play from the start, no, maybe on the bench," Pochettio said on Rose.

"He's doing well. He's excited and motivated and happy. It's good for him and for the group, to be involved, like Mousa Dembele, too."