With Erling Haaland now Premier League top dog how will Dream Team bosses view Harry Kane?
DREAM TEAM'S fantasy game is now available to play ahead of the 2023/24 season!
One man guaranteed to be a popular recruit is Harry Kane (£7m), if he remains on English soil, but for the first time in many years the England captain can't claim to be the Premier League’s apex centre-forward.
Last season, Erling Haaland (£8.5m) swaggered into the prison yard, challenged the alpha male, and took him down.
That’s not to say Tottenham's all-time top scorer didn’t mount an admirable defence of his crown, he scored 30 league goals to equal his best every tally for a top-flight campaign, but Manchester City’s No9 broke the record for most goals in a Premier League season as he plundered 36 from 35 appearances.
The gap between the two goalscorers was accentuated further in the Dream Team rankings where Haaland’s goals in other competitions contributed to his mountainous points tally of 431.
In comparison, Kane’s final total of 289 points almost looks modest, which is ridiculous because he was the third-top scorer in 2022/23.
For seasons on end, the Spurs hero was the go-to choice for Dream Team gaffers in need of an out-and-out striker of the highest calibre but Haaland’s presence means it will be intriguing to see how Dream Team bosses view him as the new season approaches.
Generally speaking, a player’s viability is linked to their team’s prospects but Kane defied Spurs’ general malaise last term to deliver another quality individual campaign.
However, the 29-year-old will want more assistance from his team-mates this coming season, particularly long-time partner Son Heung-min (£5m), who has looked out of sorts for a while now.
The appointment of Ange Postecoglou has given the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium faithful reason to be optimistic going forward.
More than anything it feels as if the fans just want an alternative approach after a few seasons of turgid pragmatism that, even when moderately successful in terms of results, failed to provide much entertainment.
The Australian gaffer is expected to employ tactics that are more enterprising and less risk-averse which, theoretically, should suit a striker with 213 Premier League goals to his name.
This season, Dream Team gaffers will have two transfers available per Gameweek so it would be easy enough to recruit Kane swiftly if Spurs start the campaign with a new free-flowing attacking verve.
Postecoglou’s first Premier League games in charge come against Brentford, Manchester United, Bournemouth, Burnley and Sheffield United - a relatively friendly set all things considered.
Haaland’s supremacy means Dream Team managers will have to think carefully about what to do with Kane as pairing them would cost £15.5m and while the potential rewards are bountiful, such an investment would requite serious concessions in other positions.
Of course, this dilemma goes away if Spurs sell Kane in the coming weeks...