Following an extremely demoralising defeat on ‘home’ turf to potential top-four rivals Manchester United, and - even worse - suffering a significant injury putting him out of action until March, Harry Kane received a morale boost at the latter end of this week after he became the recipient of the 2018 England Men’s Player of the Year Award.
Kane was, of course, part of (Sir?) Gareth Southgate’s England set-up that delighted the nation by sailing all the way to the semi-finals of the World Cup, picking up the Golden Boot for most goals scored in the tournament. Kane also received an MBE for his exploits in Russia in the Queen’s New Year Honours.
The 25-year-old has scored 27 goals in 42 appearances in all competitions so far in the 2018/19 season.
On the official FA website Kane expressed his delight at receiving the accolade;
"To be voted England's best player for the second successive year is something I'm immensely proud of.
“After such a monumental year, this award has particular significance as it’s always an honour to be recognised by the people that count the most – the fans.
“However, it took a collective effort from my England team-mates, Gareth Southgate and his staff to achieve such a positive 2018 and we were backed by fantastic support both from the stands and back at home along the way.
“We don’t want 2018 to be our only high point so here’s to continued progression with Euro 2020 qualifying and the UEFA Nations League finals in 2019.”
Everton forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin was chosen as the 2018 Under-21s Best Men’s Player.
