Conte delighted to work with ‘world class’ Harry Kane

Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has heaped praise on striker Harry Kane after he reached two important milestones in his career in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Wolves.

Not only did Kane net his 250th goal for the club, but it was also his 185th strike in the Premier League – taking him above Sergio Aguero for goals scored for a single club in the Premier League era.

The statistics speak for themselves and Conte admitted he is no longer surprised to see Kane play such a decisive role for Spurs.

“We know very well the importance of Harry for us,” the boss told BBC Sport. “He’s a top player and I was really pleased to see him score.

“We are talking about a world-class striker. We know his skill, his ability, but at the same time he is really good to work with the team.”

Later in his post-match press conference, Conte added: “Harry is a player who has to make the difference, for his quality, for his ability. We’re talking about a really world-class striker who can be dangerous in all aspects on the pitch. We tried to exploit him, to give him the possibility to score. For me, the big surprise about Harry is not only on the football aspect but the person.

“We’re talking about a really good person, a really good man. He’s always ready to help the team, to work for the team. Usually when you have this type of player, they can be a bit lazy without the ball. Because they like to play with the ball but without the ball [they think] ‘I don’t run because I have to be fresh when we have the ball’.

“But this was a bit surprise with me, working with Harry. I know he reached another big achievement, a personal big achievement. But we’re trying to work together, with the team and always with Harry to have not only personal achievements, like last season for example when Son was top scorer in the league, but to try to have a big achievement together for the team and the club.

“I think every single player is ready to exchange a personal achievement to reach a trophy. We’re working on this aspect. The path is difficult, the path is long but we have to try to do this.”