Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge has suggested that Tottenham striker Harry Kane could have been dropped by now if the club had a suitable back-up option on the bench.
How has Kane started the 2021/22 season?
To put it bluntly - poorly.
After months of speculation regarding his future over the summer, Kane ended up staying in north London, but he has struggled to find his best form in the opening weeks of the season.
In his five Premier League appearances, he is yet to find the back of the net, and he has been unable to prevent Tottenham's recent slump in form as they have lost their last three top-flight matches, conceding three goals on each occasion.
This is a far cry from the phenomenal numbers that he produced last term, when he scored 23 times to end the campaign as the Premier League's Golden Boot winner for the third time in his career.
What did Bridge say about Kane?
Bridge has admitted that Kane looks off the pace, and feels that it is clear that the England captain no longer wants to be at Spurs any more. However, he doubts that Nuno Espirito Santo will drop the 28-year-old as there is no obvious replacement for him.
When responding to whether Kane could lose his starting place, Bridge told GIVEMESPORT: “I’d only say they would if they had someone off the bench. Even back in the old days of Poch, we had Llorente didn’t we? And he would never really let anyone down, but he’d only really play in the cup games. You could push Son forward, but Bergwijn’s still injured.
“Do you drop Kane? I wouldn’t personally, I wouldn’t. Look he’s not happy. He doesn’t want to be there, that’s blindingly obvious, but the fact that he’s still there, and Nuno has to get the best out of him in some way.”
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Could Kane be dropped against Aston Villa?
Tottenham host Aston Villa this weekend, and they will be desperate to get October off to a good start after enduring a miserable month in September. Could they go about turning their fortunes around by dropping Kane?
That seems highly unlikely.
As Bridge mentioned, Tottenham do not have an out-and-out striker who could take Kane's place, and Nuno should be focused on trying to build his confidence as he could be a huge asset for Spurs in the coming months if he can return to somewhere near his best.
Dropping Kane may sour the atmosphere at Tottenham even more, and Nuno cannot allow that to happen, so he needs to keep the attacker on board by starting him and somehow getting a strong performance out of him on Sunday.