10 players who had their breakthrough season in 2014/15
It is very difficult for any aspiring young footballer to make it big in the football due to the immense competition for places these days. Most managers are becoming increasingly reluctant to give young and relatively inexperienced players a chance to perform as a defeat following such a decision could put their role in jeopardy.This is one of the reasons why many promising young players are sent out on loan by their parent clubs in a quest to give them ample playing time and also with the hope of these players returning as quality players who can make a difference to the first team of the parent club. On the other hand, some clubs cannot afford the luxury of buying players at will or have managers who give importance to young players and tend to slowly give chances to promising youngsters in the hope that these players will enjoy a breakthrough season.Here is a list of 10 such promising players who enjoyed their breakthrough season in 2014/15.
#1 Harry Kane - Tottenham Hotspur
Age: 21
Position: Striker
Harry Kane has been one of the biggest headline makers this season because of what has been an amazing season with his boyhood club. The Englishman started the current season on the bench as manager Mauricio Pochettino preferred the more experienced Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado over the 21-year-old, but the failure of the senior players in front of goal and Kane’s brilliant performances in cup games eventually warranted a starting role in the league games as well.
Kane repaid his manager’s faith in full and with interest as he found the back of the net in only his second league start of the season. He was able to find the back of the net consistently from there on and created a lot of headlines on New Year’s Day when his brace powered Spurs to a 5-3 win over table toppers Chelsea.
He has so far scored 30 goals this season with 20 of them coming in league games and he is just two goals short of breaking the record of most league goals scored by a Spurs player in the Premier League era, which is currently held by none other than Gareth Bale.
The 21-year-old has been awarded the PFA Young Player of the year award for his performance, was nominated for the PFA Player of the Year and is also part of the PFA Team of the Year. The biggest reward for him though has to be the chance to represent England and scoring in just 79 seconds on his debut.
Kane has been described as an old fashioned traditional centre forward. His hold up play, movement off the ball, poaching ability, placement of shots and power in the air make him a striker with very few weakness, something which former Spurs player Danny Murphy also acknowledged.