THE inevitable has happened.
From the moment Antonio Conte was employed by Tottenham Hotspur, Dream Team gaffers started murmuring about the likelihood of Harry Kane (£7.1m) reversing his form.
With all due respect to Nuno Espirito Santo, the Italian tactician is a different calibre of coach entirely, with many wise observers ranking him among the world’s very best.
More importantly, he doesn’t suffer fools lightly.
It’s no secret that Spurs’ premier forward was pushing for a transfer away from the club in the summer.
And so it was hardly a surprise when he appeared demotivated and sluggish during the first third of the season, a spell that produced just one goal in his first 13 league games, having failed to land a move.
That Kane’s malaise abruptly ended when Conte was appointed was no coincidence.
By all accounts, the England captain has relished the opportunity to play under an elite coach, which is exactly what he had in mind with the rumoured switch to Man City.
The hunger has returned and consequently, so have the goals.
After a brace against Brighton in the FA Cup, Kane has scored eight goals in 15 appearances under Conte.
And from a Dream Team perspective, he’s scooped four Star Man awards in that time.
In terms of returns, he’s provided 91 points since the change in management, with 60 of those coming in the last six Game Weeks.
These numbers are reminiscent of Kane’s sensational 2020/21 campaign when he finished as the Premier League’s top scorer and top assist-provider – more importantly, he ended the term as Dream Team’s top points scorer.
Put simply, he’s back.
The underlying numbers reinforce the image of a revitalised Kane.
Under Nuno, he averaged almost half as many shots per league game as he now does under Conte.
During his early-season strop, the 28-year-old wasn’t exerting himself to get into goalscoring positions.
And that’s why it was his second goal against the Seagulls on Saturday, the scrappy lunge, that best illustrates his upturn.
His first was a sumptuous curled finish but there was never any doubt about his general quality during his lull under Nuno, it was his desire that was being questioned.
So for him to score what Gary Lineker, Ian Wright and Alan Shearer would all conclude was a proper poacher’s goal, one born from taking up an opportunistic position, is evidence that he is once again desperate for goals and prepared to put in the effort.
Given his barren patch at the start of the season, it would be a notable effort if Kane were to end up with 25+ goals in all competitions for Spurs again – he’s on 15 currently.
Dream Team bosses will be wondering how many he’s likely to score this month given that Spurs are set to face Southampton, Wolves, Manchester City, Burnley and Leeds before the end of February.
The champions elect and Bruno Lage’s side boast resolute defences but Conte will back his main man to cash in against three of the league’s more porous back lines either side of those two fixtures.
At the time of writing, Kane is the third-best Dream Team asset with 163 points to his name, ten points behind Trent Alexander-Arnold (£6.5m).
Will he overtake the Liverpool defender before the end of the season?
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