Herbie Kane | Under the radar?

Article by Jack Gill @jacklfcgill Herbie Kane. He isn’t the most recognised footballer in England. He isn’t even the most recognised H. Kane in England, but the 19-year-old is currently benefitting massively from a loan spell at league one side, Doncaster Rovers, at the moment.   Bristol-born Kane was picked up by Liverpool in 2013 from Bristol City’s academy and was quickly seen as a young player with a lot of potential alongside Trent Alexander-Arnold whose rise to the Liverpool first team in the last 18 months has been quite incredible. Whilst Trent Alexander-Arnold was making his debut for the club in 2016 against Tottenham, Kane’s season was marred by injuries which prevented his rise to the first team at LFC.   Kane bounced back from his injuries and was instrumental for Neil Crutchley’s Under 23 side last season, often wearing the armband towards the end of last season and was training with Jurgen Klopp’s first team at the end of the 2017/18 season.   He re-joined the academy squad in pre-season and was heavily linked with a move to Steven Gerrard’s Rangers side. Kane was granted a loan move but rather than joining Gerrard’s Gers in Scotland, Herbie Kane ended up joining South Yorkshire side Doncaster Rovers on a short-term loan deal until January.   Having not played a single minute of professional football in his career prior to this loan move, and Rovers being well-stocked with midfield options, it seemed like Herbie had been thrown in the deep end and would be fighting to get a place in the Doncaster side.   It’s safe to say that Doncaster Rovers fans weren’t too optimistic initially by the loan signing; confused as to whether to make comparisons with the famous 1963 Volkswagen Beetle that brandishes the number 53 or disappointed that they hadn’t signed England captain Harry Kane, it was more a case of Herbie who?  In his first interview for Doncaster Rovers Kane admitted “It was an important decision for me as it’s my first loan spell, I know I’ll have to work hard to earn my place in the team.” It’s safe to say that even Kane himself didn’t see how instrumental he’d actually be for a Doncaster side who a pushing for promotion to the Sky Bet Championship.   Herbie Kane has become an extremely important player for Doncaster Rovers, who are playing some good football under Grant McCann who replaced Sir Alex Ferguson’s son, Darren, as manager of the Yorkshire club in the Summer. McCann’s ‘heavy-metal’, ‘free-flowing’ style of play is very similar to Jurgen Klopp’s side which is extremely entertaining to watch and may be very beneficial to Herbie Kane who has impressed during a loan-spell where there wasn’t much expected of the youngster.   Kane began the season on the Doncaster bench but played 90 minutes in their second game of the season, against Wycombe and made an instant impact setting up Doncaster’s opener. Ever since that game, Kane seems to be growing more and more as a player and people are starting to ask questions about where his future lies.   Under Grant McCann, Herbie is being deployed mostly in a roving midfield role. However, he has also played as the holding midfielder and ‘bossed’ the midfield. Doncaster Rovers fans have been extremely impressed by Kane who has shown superb passing ability and have praised the Bristol-born midfielder for his composure, maturity and movement off the ball. What has also been impressive about Herbie Kane’s performances is that they have been consistently brilliant and even on days where he will have been disappointed with his performance, his ability has shone as he stands out from the pack.   Kane has been instrumental for Doncaster Rovers so far this season and has produced Man of the Match performances against Burton Albion, Portsmouth, Accrington Stanley and Sunderland and also in Saturday’s match against Barnsley where Kane also managed to score a header in a 1-1 draw.     Living with a Doncaster Rovers fan has been tough the last few weeks and I have been pestered with questions like: ‘This Herbie fella is good, we’re keeping him.’ So yesterday I decided to go and see for myself and in, all honesty, I was extremely impressed with the youngster. He dominated the game against a Barnsley side who are heavily tipped to win the league. Of course, there are areas of his game where he needs to improve, but he is a very special player.   His passing ability is superb, and he is very capable of turning defence into attack. His ability is something to be very excited about and every time he touched the ball you were on the edge of your seat as he is a player very capable of creating something special. His creativity is very important for Doncaster’s style of play and he very nearly set up Doncaster legend, James Coppinger, for a 95^th minute winner working his way out of a tight space, driving to the by line, and pulling the ball back for the 37^-year-old, who was denied by a very good save from Barnsley goalkeeper Adam Davies.   Whilst Doncaster Rovers supporters would love to extend his loan-deal which ends in January, even they admit that Kane’s ability is better than that of a league one team. His performances have been outstanding and I’m sure Klopp and his team will welcome him back to Melwood, but Kane has established a very good connection with the Doncaster fans and may want to extend his stay at least to the end of the season to try and guide the League One side to promotion to the Sky Bet Championship.   Whilst I was very impressed by Herbie’s performance, I am not someone whom will put pressure on the youngster and turn around and compare him to the likes of Steven Gerrard. Whilst, as a biased Liverpool fan, I’d love to have him back at LFC for the future as a talent who may be capable of big things, Kane’s future should be decided by the player himself. He has established a brilliant relationship with the ‘Donny’ fans, becoming, very much, a fan’s favourite and will no doubt have offers to stay with the club long term.   We talk about the likes of Harry Wilson, Rhian Brewster, Ben Woodburn, Ryan Kent and Sheyi Ojo an awful lot and I suggest we start talking about Herbie Kane as well. A gem of our academy that is capable of becoming a very special player and we will definitely be keeping a close eye on him to see what his decision is in the next few weeks. Article by Jack Gill @jacklfcgill    16+ PODCASTS P/MONTH  12+ SHOWS P/MONTH  DAILY ARTICLES INC ‘SPECIAL GUEST WRITERS’  EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS – INC JURGEN KLOPP!  Pre and Post Match Shows