Spurs phenomenon Harry Kane on track to become Premier League's greatest striker

The milestones just keep on coming for the England attacker who could potentially overtake Shearer as the modern top-flight's finest finisher

WEST BROM RATINGS: Sam Johnstone - 7: Looked to have secured a valuable point late on with a fine save from Vinicius but was caught in no man's land for Kane's winner. AFP

Darnell Furlong - 7: Managed to keep Bale in check and forced Lloris into a fine save with a header. AFP

Semi Ajayi - 7. A commanding presence at the heart of the West Brom defence. Rock solid alongside centre-back partner Kyle Bartey. AFP

Kyle Bartley - 7. Robust presence and stood up well to Kane's threat throughout. AFP

Dara O'Shea - 6: A crucial block to deny Kane and a glancing header at the other end flashed just wide of the post. AFP

Conor Townsend - 5: Passing too often went astray and never looked to take Doherty on. AFP

Jake Livermore - 6: As strong as an ox in the tackle. A typical nuts-and-bolts display at the base of West Brom's midfield. AFP

Conor Gallagher - 7: The on-loan winger with the surfer dude haircut showed he is willing to get stuck in and was unlucky to see his second-half effort clip the post. AFP

Filip Krovinovic - 6. Bright on the ball in the first half as the hosts matched Spurs but faded out of the game after the interval. AFP

Callum Robinson - 6: Always willing to run at the Spurs defence but badly lacking support. AFP

Karlan Grant - 5: Always on the periphery. Hard to fathom why the lively Robinson was withdrawn well before his ineffective strike partner. AFP

SUB: Grady Diangana (Robinson 67') - 5: Starved of the ball and failed to clear the first man when given corner kick duty. AFP

SUB: Matt Phillips (Grant, 84') - N/A. No time to make an impact. AFP

SUB: Kyle Edwards (Livermore, 89') - N/A. Introduced right after Spurs scored. AFP

TOTTENHAM RATINGS: Hugo Lloris - 7: Kept plenty busy by West Brom but was always alert. Reuters

Matt Doherty - 7: Still shy of the form he showed at Wolves but the Irishman's wonferfully flighted ball for Kane led to a late winner. AFP

Toby Alderweireld - 7: Little got past the Belgian while his passing from the back was impressive. Reuters

Eric Dier - 8: Combative and commanding at the heart of the Spurs defence. Superb headed clearance to deny West Brom a goal early on. AFP

Sergio Reguilon - 8: The Spanish speedster needs no invitation to get forward. Was Spurs' best attacking outlet down the left.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - 7: Another workmanlike performance from Spurs' no-thrills midfielder. Adds real steel in the middle of the park. AFP

Moussa Sissoko - 6: The Frenchman's role seems a little diminished since Hojbjerg's arrival, but didn't let his side down here. AFP

Tanguy Ndombele - 6: Always looking to break forward to join Spurs front three. Withdrawn in the second half after picking up an injury. Reuters

Son Heung-min - 6: A rare quiet game for the South Korean forward. His touch deserted him a little today, although he had a glorious chance to open the scoring early on. EPA

Gareth Bale - 6: Given his first league start since rejoining from Real Madrid on loan. You can see the relationship between Bale, Son and Kane showing some signs of working but the Welshman rarely troubled the West Brom defence. EPA

Harry Kane - 7: Tottenham's talisman took his Premier League tally to 150 goals - level with Michael Owen - with a delicate header that only enhanced his reputation as a modern day great. EPA

SUB: Giovani Lo Celso (Ndombele, 64') - 5: Wasted a superb chance from close range. AFP

SUB: Carlos Vinicius (Bale, 78') - 6: Forced Johnstone into a finger-tip save with a fine turn and shot. Reuters

SUB: Lucas Moura (Sissoko, 79') - 5: Ran and harried as West Brom piled pressure late on in search of an equaliser. AFP

Sometimes a footballer reaches a stage in his career where every game feels a milestone. For Harry Kane, two came in four days.

His 200th Tottenham goal, making him only the third man to register a double century for Spurs, came against Ludogorets last Thursday. His 150th Premier League strike followed at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.

He was only to 10th man to get there and the first born after the division’s inception. Kane is indeed a product of the Premier League era, the only one of those prolific marksmen to enter the world at a point when Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United were champions.

It only took him 218 games to reach 150, putting him fractionally behind Alan Shearer (212) and Sergio Aguero (217), though the Argentinian has the best goals-per-minute ratio of any. But it is notable how much faster Kane proved than feared goalscorers: Michael Owen (323), Wayne Rooney (330) and Robbie Fowler (333) each took more than 100 games more.

In one respect, Kane has the most in common with the man who, understandably, was the slowest to 150. Frank Lampard is the lone midfielder in the company of strikers. He is also, like Kane, a self-made player who used footballing intelligence and relentless drive to transform himself into a phenomenon. Few tipped either for greatness at a young age; it was attained by a capacity to improve themselves.

Examine Kane’s record and it is notable that he took eight years, two months and 14 days from making his Premier League debut to reach 150.

Except that, while his bow came in August 2012, his first goal arrived in April 2014, after an unsuccessful loan spell at Norwich. It reframes his feat: in under six-and-a-half campaigns, he has averaged over 20 goals a season.

Carry on at his current rate of progress and it suggests that he could overhaul Shearer’s record of 260 towards the end of 2025, when he will be 32.

Shearer has often said he believes Kane could supplant him and, with Aguero possibly leaving Manchester City at the end of the season, there is no other threat to his status in the next few years.

A secret of Kane’s success is actually incredibly obvious. He plays the percentages. He has had the most shots in the division this season, just as he did in both 2015-16 and 2017-18.

He has racked up 817 efforts in a relatively brief Premier League career and, while such statistics were not compiled in Shearer’s prime, he seems likely to displace Rooney and end up top of that particular chart.

It can feel a surprise that Kane has had so many attempts this season; the image of him is dropping deeper to release Heung-Min Son with a defence-splitting pass, acting as the playmaker.

He could yet record a double that eluded even Thierry Henry by recording the most Premier League goals and assists in the same season.

It is part of the evolution of Kane. "Since Jose [Mourinho] has come in, he's made it clear that if I do drop deep the wingers are running in behind," he told The Sunday Times. Certainly Kane's ratio of top-flight goals to assists – currently 5.35:1 – will come down as he serves as the creator more.

“This guy does much more than scoring goals,” Mourinho marvelled on Sunday. “The last five minutes, he was playing as a No 6 and winning balls in front of our defensive line. He is special.”

It is the sort of selflessness Mourinho loves, but a manager who prizes efficiency recognises the merit of finishers, and Kane could finish up as statistically the Premier League’s greatest ever.