3 Areas for Tottenham's Harry Kane to Improve on in 2015/16 Season

Tottenham striker Harry Kane enjoyed an historic season in 2014/15. 

The numbers are, by now, familiar to even casual observers of the Premier League, and yet they do still bear repeating. 

Kane accumulated a remarkable 31 goals in 51 appearances for his club across four different competitions. Only in the FA Cup did the 22-year-old fail to leave his mark on the scoresheet. 

He tacked on another five assists and a goal on his England debut. 

It was a season so brilliant that Kane could enjoy a fine career at the top level without ever eclipsing it. 

The Tottenham academy product forced his way into the first team by heading the top scorer's list in the Europa League and, once promoted, gave his manager no reason to question his place in the side. 

Easily outshining his teammates in the forward line, Kane rose to great acclaim. 

Determined not to be regarded as a one-season wonder, Kane both sought advice from Alan Shearer and targeted the Newcastle legend's Premier League goalscoring record. 

At present, Kane is more than 230 goals shy of Shearer's high-water mark of 260.

He could score at the same rate he did last season for a decade and fail to beat Shearer. 

To do so would require virtually unheard-of consistency, but such a lofty long-term target highlights the first area where Kane must improve. 

His goal-shy start to the season proves just how difficult it is to consistently deliver in the Premier League. 

He has scored just once this season and, while he is not playing poorly, his lack of goals is clearly influencing his decision making. 

Last season, Kane converted his chances at an astonishing 25 percent.

In Lionel Messi's magnificent 2011/12 season, he converted his chances at 29 percent, while Cristiano Ronaldo managed less than 22 percent in the same campaign. 

Kane's eye-catching conversion rate suggests one of two things. Either he is fairly placed among the world's greatest players, or he was over-performing in a relatively small sample of games.

This season that number has dropped to just four percent. 

When Luis Suarez managed just four goals in his first half-season at Liverpool, his conversion rate was roughly double what Kane's is now (around eight percent). 

This graph demonstrates that Kane is on course for an improbably historic season. 

Kane should neither be scoring goals at the same rate as Messi and Ronaldo, nor should he emulate Lazio striker Mauro Zarate's amazingly poor 2009/10 season (Zarate converted two percent of approximately 140 shots in that campaign).

As Suarez rebounded from that poor run, Kane is certain to do likewise.

Of course Kane's drop is due to more than just statistical quirks. 

Kane could push his record back towards last season's numbers by being more selective and thoughtful with his shots, but he continues to be a threat and will undoubtedly begin to score more regularly as the season continues. 

Regularly scoring is enough for most forwards, but Kane's aspirations are higher than most, and to reach his ambition he must broaden his game. 

After consistency, Kane must increase his ability to improve the players around him. 

The world's best strikers are able to create almost as many goals as they score.

Thierry Henry and Wayne Rooney are the calibre of forwards that Kane seeks to emulate. These are players in the top 10 of both Premier League goals and assists. 

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

While Kane was a brilliant goalscorer in his first full season in the first team, he contributed little in terms of making goals for his team. 

At youth level, Kane excelled as a creator. He often played behind a striker, pulling the strings as the more advanced players reaped the rewards. 

Roma's ageless icon Francesco Totti is already what Kane wants to be. The 39-year-old is a one-club legend and an historic goalscorer. More than that, Totti has made his career as both a scorer and creator of goals. 

Totti is the ideal player for Kane to attempt to emulate. 

Players like Son Heung-min and Nacer Chadli, genuine goalscorers from wide positions, are the perfect weapons to help Kane grow into that creative role.  

Mauricio Pochettino has experimented with Kane as a No. 10 in several matches this season, often using Clinton Njie as the main forward.

This trial has been met with some success, but it necessitates removing one of Son, Chadli or Christian Eriksen from the forward line. 

It will be difficult to balance these competing interests, but it gives Pochettino the best kind of problem. 

Kane is already an excellent Premier League striker. 

A fine dribbler, fiercely strong, good in the air and possessing a wickedly powerful shot, Kane has it all. 

However, Kane's other vital attribute is his connection to the club. 

An emotional player, Kane has the potential to become the spiritual leader of the club. 

Like Steven Gerrard, Gary Neville or John Terry, Kane has a special connection to his team and is destined to lead it. 

Already a hero on the same terraces that he once watched his team from, he can be his club's beating heart. 

This will be a long-term goal for Kane, but it is not one that is beyond him. 

He is already the embodiment of the fans on the pitch, just as Ledley King was before him, and as he continues to blossom as a player, he will lift his club along with him. 

Kane is the face of a young side that is growing into vast potential. 

When he can add the extra creativity and consistency to his game, those attributes will help him take up the mantle of leadership that he is seemingly bound for. 

A striker of his goalscoring ability imbued with the ability to deliver regularly and help his teammates grow would be in rarefied air. 

That level is not beyond Kane, but only time will tell whether he can reach it.

His slow start to this season should not cloud the fact that he is one of the rising strikers in European football. 

Spurs must help him to reach his immense potential. Then they can hitch themselves to his rising star.