From early November until the end of May, Harry Kane stole the show on pretty much every episode of Match of the Day last season, his Roy of the Rovers fairytale coming to life in front of our very eyes.

But we’re now three instalments into the new term and the Tottenham striker has been little more than an extra in the Premier League’s weekly production, given the odd line here and there – a brief snippet of occasional final third inventiveness – to keep Spurs and England fans appeased. In truth, if MOTD had decided to leave Kane’s brightest moments of the season thus far on the cutting room floor, not too many would have noticed or complained about Spurs’ performances being misrepresented.

Indeed, it always felt inevitable the 22-year-old would come crashing down to earth with a difficult, barren start to the season after the almost insurmountable highs of last year; emerging from the peripheries of Tottenham’s squad to become the top-scoring Englishman in the Premier League and earn comparisons with Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham and Thomas Muller to name a few.

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But after three games without a goal – or for that matter, any output at all – should Tottenham fans be worried that the club’s talismanic top scorer from last season is still waiting for his first strike in the Premier League?

The inevitable question asked in some quarters is whether Kane will prove to be a one-season wonder. It may seem implausible considering how ferociously the 6 foot 2 striker improved over the course of the 2014/15 campaign, how he demolished the most resilient centre-back partnership in the league during a 5-3 win over Chelsea on New Year’s Day and how the vast majority of pundits from the Premier League and yonder were unanimous in their assessment of Kane as England’s most exciting youngster since the days of a teenage Wayne Rooney.

Yet hyperbole is what the British football media excels at most and it would hardly be the first time the longevity of an in-form striker has been misinterpreted in the Premier League. Who remembers Marcus Stewart and Michael Ricketts? Or for that matter, arguably the greatest one-season wonder in Premier League history – Swansea City’s Michu.

Arsene Wenger compared the 29 year-old to Dennis Bergkamp as he amassed 22 goals in his debut season at the Liberty Stadium, leading to talks of a £20million move to Arsenal and an inaugural cap for the Spanish national team. Two seasons and one woeful loan spell at Napoli later, however, Swansea are struggling to find a buyer as Michu clings onto the club’s wage bill for dear life. The next contract he signs will be a major step down, both in football and financial terms.

So is Kane the British manifestation of Michu? Will we never see another 21-goal campaign from the Spurs centre-forward again? Will he be added to the continually expanding collection of young English players wrongly heralded and hyped as the much-needed savour of our national game? In ten year’s time, will his name be nothing more than an obscure answer in a pub quiz?

Whilst that may be insinuated by his current Premier League goal tally – precisely naught – Kane’s actual performances do suggest otherwise. Indeed, he’s averaged 2.7 shots, 1.7 created chances and 2.3 successful dribbles per match this season, all improvements upon his averages from last term and ranking him in the top three on all fronts within the Tottenham squad.

More worrying is the limited number of touches he’s had in the opposition’s penalty area – a miserly one during a 2-2 draw with Stoke City, for example – but considering Kane’s pre-season began later than most due to his involvement in the England U21’s European Championship campaign, (the less said about that the better) it’s hardly been a woeful start from the 22 year-old.

So if not Kane himself, then what is the source of his barren spell? A striker’s inability to score can speak volumes about how well a team is functioning; in Tottenham’s case, not particularly well.

Take Wayne Rooney for example; he’s also waiting for his first Premier League gotal yet it’s impossible to dispute that the third-top scoring player in the division’s history knows where the goal is. Whilst some have questioned his form individually – admittedly, hardly exemplary in typical early-season-Rooney style – from a tactical perspective he’s being hung out to dry by the lack of pace and top-class ability surrounding him.

In other words, Kane needs more prominent support acts to arrive at White Hart Lane before September 1st. Although supremely talented, Christian Eriksen’s performances are frustratingly inconsistent, whilst Erik Lamela’s showmanship in the Dane’s absence against Leicester City further validated fears that the Lilywhites’ club-record signing lacks creative substance despite oozing style.

Meanwhile, Nacer Chadli, although a useful physical presence and goal threat out wide, looks painfully ordinary when not putting the ball into the net. Last season he averaged just 1.2 created chances per match; to put that into perspective, 59 Premier League players did better.

There’s been talk of Saido Berahino coming in and the West Brom star’s defence-splitting pace would certainly be of significant benefit to his England U21 team-mate. But in my opinion, if Tottenham expect Kane to match the proficiency of last season, they need something more established and consistent in attack than simply another promising young player.

The concern, however, is that the north Londoners have probably left it a little too late to sign a player of such description.

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