Spurs striker Harry Kane scored a brace against Arsenal in his team’s 2-1 victory
Yesterday saw both the north London derby and Merseyside derby take place.
Tottenham claimed a 2-1 victory over arch-rivals Arsenal in the early kick-off. The Merseyside derby ended goalless in a pretty tepid affair.
Key
A key factor in both the derby matches was the performances of two young English players, who both received man of the match awards.
Spurs striker Harry Kane has gone from fringe player to talisman this season.
The 21-year-old scored a brace against the Gunners in the north London derby and his 86th minute winner was superbly taken. Kane has now scored 22 goals in all competitions this season in his breakthrough season.
He is keeping high-profile duo Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor out of the Spurs team at the moment. That is a situation that is unlikely to change as Kane has made himself a fan favourite with his appearances this season.
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers surprised everybody with the selection of youngster Jordon Ibe against Everton. It was only the 19-year-olds second Premier League start and fifth senior appearance for the club.
The youngster produced a very effective display out of position at right wing back, when usually deployed as a right-sided midfielder or right winger. In fact the youngster earned man of the match and came the closest to scoring, hitting the upright with a powerful effort after taking on Bryan Oviedo.
Ibe looked like a continual threat to the Toffees defence and he looks like a real bright prospect for the future.
Loans
Both youngsters have honed their skills in loan spells. Ibe has only recently returned from a loan spell at Championship Derby, where he scored five goals and looked very impressive. The youngster also previously enjoyed a loan spell in the second tier with Birmingham.
Kane also had loan spells at Leyton Orient, Millwall and Leicester, before becoming a first team regular for Spurs this season, after scoring his first ever Premier League goals last season.
Those loan spells have obviously helped both young players in developing into players capable of playing in the top-flight, although it is obviously earlier in the career of Ibe, than Kane
England
England boss Roy Hodgson was at White Hart Lane yesterday to witness Kane’s impressive display and surely the youngster now has to be in his first team plans for the Three Lions next squad.
England are not currently over blessed with experienced strikers, so Kane has to be considered a realistic candidate for a place in the squad. The way Kane is performing it is impossible for Hodgson to keep ignoring the striker.
Kane has scored 12 Premier League goals this season and he looks like he could score goals at any level. He certainly has the intelligence and confidence to play international football.
Ibe is obviously behind Kane in his development, having only played two Premier League games. However when given his top-flight chance he took it with both hands and has already featured for the England under-20 team.
Ibe looks like a bright long-term prospect and if he can continue to perform for the Reds then he could feature for the Three Lions in the near future.
Fresh Air
In a league dominated by foreign players it is good to see two young English players have such an effect in two big games.
Both players are only young and still have to improve. Kane has already established himself as first choice striker for Spurs and it is great to see. Maybe in the coming months Ibe can stake a regular claim in the Liverpool first team.
Kane’s emergence in particular shows that the doom and gloom that engulfed England’s World Cup could be lifted by some talented youngsters coming through the system.
Will Harry Kane be in the next England squad?
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