Jose Mourinho draws comparisons between Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane and Real Madrid superstar

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has compared Harry Kane's development into a 'nine and a half' to that of Real Madrid star Karim Benzema.

The English superstar has been one of the most in-form players in world football this year. In just 25 Premier League starts, Kane currently leads the assist charts with 13 — his best league tally in his career — and is only second to Mo Salah in the scoring charts with 16 goals along with Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes.

His all-round ability and to be able to function as a 'nine and a half' has been an incredible asset for Tottenham Hotspur and Mourinho believes that this aspect of his game is similar to that of his former striker, Benzema.

26 - Among @premierleague players in all competitions this season, Harry Kane has scored the most goals (26) and also made the joint-most assists (16). Package. pic.twitter.com/ZGnFKUzNDq

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 11, 2021

The Portuguese manager explained;

"At this moment, you see Harry [Kane], you see [Karim] Benzema who is 33 now. They are very intelligent, they drop back, they assist so they can transform their game, and later in their career instead of becoming the No 9 target, they become the nine-and-a-half between the nine and the 10, and [can] they have football until they want. But it is too early at 27 [years old] to think about that."

The three-time Premier League winner added,

"I have been lucky enough to work with players with great ambitions and it is not possible to have a career like mine without players with ambition. He [Kane] has that, [I have] no doubt that of course he wants to win matches, win trophies, [he is] totally committed with the club and the national team. He is a very good example of a top professional and he is a great example for everybody."

Karim Benzema has been Zinedine Zidane's go-to attacker at Real Madrid since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018, firing the Spanish side to a successful LaLiga Santander campaign last year.

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I really enjoyed working with Karim Benzema — Former Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho

Real Madrid Pre-Season Training Session and Press Conference

Jose Mourinho was full of praise for Benzema, but this is not the first time that he has name dropped his former striker even after leaving Real Madrid. The Portuguese manager has had his fair share of fallouts with high-profile names such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos over the course of his illustrious career, but he has not had such issues with Benzema at Real Madrid.

During his time in Spain, Mourinho once famously compared the French striker to Gonzalo Higuain in a press conference. He explained;

"If you go hunting and you haven’t got a dog, if you have a cat, you take the cat. You can’t go on your own. And that’s a bit like what we have here. We have a forward, [Karim] Benzema and we play him but if we don’t have [Gonzalo] Higuain, we have a problem."

Real Madrid v Malaga - Copa del Rey

Mourinho also stated that he enjoyed working with Benzema during their time together at Real Madrid, saying,

"With Karim it was not a conflict. I just wanted to help the player - an incredibly talented player - to change his mindset, to help him reach his maximum. To become a killer, a determined center forward. I really enjoyed working with Karim."

30 - This has been the 30th time that Karim Benzema has scored and assisted in the same LaLiga game. Only Cristiano Ronaldo has done it more often for @realmadriden in the 21st Century (44). History. pic.twitter.com/7w7AKrld7v

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) December 20, 2020

Benzema has scored 13 goals and set up a further five in 22 LaLiga Santander starts for Real Madrid this campaign. During his 150 games under Mourinho, Benzema struck 78 times for Real Madrid.

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