Harry Kane shows same finishing instinct now as he did aged 8 in unearthed school snap

Posted Wednesday, December 07, 2022 by Dailystar.co.uk

EXCLUSIVE: Harry Kane is on the verge of becoming England's top scorer and is wanted by every elite club in Europe - but where did it all begin for the Tottenham striker?

Harry Kane shows same finishing instinct now as he did aged 8 in unearthed school snap
Harry Kane at age 8, learning his trade (Image: LAWRENCE LUSTIG)

When Harry Kane looks back on his career, he might reminisce on his time spent kicking a tennis ball at primary school.

Larkswood Primary School, in Chingford, London, to be precise, where the England star spent his childhood growing up. It was at age eight when Kane would experience his first disappointment in football, being released by Arsenal for being "a bit chubby", according to former head of youth development Liam Brady.

That would be a decision that the Gunners would rue as local rivals Tottenham eventually picked Kane up and the rest is history. And with a stroke of luck, former Larkswood Primary School governor Lawrence Lustig dusted off his old archives and found what might be the earliest picture of Kane kicking a ball - albeit a tennis one.

He told Daily Star Sport: "The picture was taken when he was at primary school, Larkswood in Chingford, it was in year 2001 or 2002 school year. He must have been around eight or nine years old at the time.

"This is my local school, I went to this school, my children went here and that was when I became school governor. Each year, the headmaster asked me to visit the school and take some pictures around the school.

"These were for the school archive and the prospectus that they put out every year for new children joining. I would be just going around for a couple of days, taking just day-to-day life pictures.

And since then, it is fair to say that Harry Kane might have mastered his craft (Image: Kieran McManus/REX/Shutterstock)

"On that day, it just happened to be Harry kicking a tennis ball against the wall as kids would do. He went on to play for the school team eventually but I couldn't comment on whether he was a good player then!

"He eventually played alongside one of my sons, who was a year older and Harry was playing up a year and he was a good player. Maybe not the one you'd pick out of the team, I don't want to undermine it - he was a very, very good player.

"I was just going through some archive stuff the other day and I found it. I don't remember taking that picture on itself, I did this for years and years at this school and as I was flicking through them I just thought 'I wonder if there are any of Harry Kane' and then I saw this one. "

Harry Kane shows same finishing instinct now as he did aged 8 in unearthed school snap
Harry Kane could lead England to World Cup glory (Image: GETTY)

Not even in his wildest dreams would Kane believe at that moment that he would go on to captain England at multiple tournaments, including the Qatar World Cup, where he looks to make history.

The Three Lions are among the favourites to win the competition for the first time since 1966 but take on holders France on Saturday in arguably Gareth Southgate's biggest test as national team manager so far.