Daniel is an experienced football journalist and editor at Football FanCast with over a decade of experience covering the EFL, Scottish football and the wider professional game. Since beginning his career in 2015, he has developed extensive expertise in data-led analysis and original football features.  

Daniel began his career at Fresh Press before writing and editing for publications including Read Norwich, Read Celtic and Anfield Watch. Throughout his career, he has interviewed football figures including Liverpool goalkeeping coach John Achterberg, former striker Adebayo Akinfenwa and journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Since joining Football FanCast, Daniel has contributed as both a writer and editor. His specialist knowledge has also seen him contribute to BBC Norfolk and assist DAZN with commentary research. A Norwich City season-ticket holder, he combines professional reporting experience with first-hand knowledge of the English and Scottish games.

Tottenham Hotspur supporters rejoiced when it was announced earlier this week that Harry Kane won the Ballon d'O for the first time in his career.

The England captain became the first former Spurs player since Luka Modric in 2018 to win the award, and only the second player in the club's history.

Kane has won the award as a Bayern Munich player, but it was his time with the Lilywhites that put him on a path to becoming the best player in the world.

The prolific striker left Spurs to sign for the German giants for a fee of £86.4m in the summer of 2023, after the best part of a decade being a regular starter in North London.

How Spurs created a Ballon d'Or winner

Not every club excels at bringing players through their academy system and into the first-team, and there are many horror stories of teams who did not give a young player a chance to shine and then had to watch them become a superstar elsewhere.

That is why Spurs deserve credit for giving Kane the first-team opportunities that he needed to develop into a star during his time in North London, as he went on loans to Millwall, Norwich, Leyton Orient, and Leicester before being brought into the senior side.

The 33-year-old marksman then went on to score a club-record 280 goals in 435 appearances in all competitions for the Lilywhites before his move to Bayern.

It was Spurs who gave him his big break at the top level and helped to mould his talent in the Premier League for more than nine seasons, which is how they helped Bayern to create a Ballon d'Or winner.

How Kane's Spurs teammate was key to his success

Heung-min Son also played a key role in Kane's success in North London, as they became an unbelievable pairing at the top end of the pitch for the Lilywhites.

During their time together at Spurs, they combined for 309 goals in 297 appearances between each other, which speaks to how effective they were as a duo.

In fact, Son and Kane hold the record for the most goal combinations by a pair in the history of the Premier League, as they directly assisted each other up for 47 goals in the top-flight.

This shows just how important the English centre-forward's pairing with Son was for his development and success in the league, which means that the South Korean star also played a part in his road to the Ballon d'Or.

Spurs have found their best pairing since Kane and Son

Now, in the present day, Roberto De Zerbi has found his own version of Kane and Son in a Spurs pairing that recently caught the eye in the win over Chelsea.

In the summer transfer window, Tottenham swooped to sign Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United for £100m and Mateus Fernandes from West Ham United for £85m to bolster their options in the middle of the park.

The latter had a slow start to the campaign, as Rodrigo Bentancur and Lucas Bergvall were preferred ahead of him, but he started alongside Tonali in the clash with Chelsea last weekend.

They looked like the perfect midfield pairing for the way that De Zerbi wants his Spurs team to play, as they both offered mobility, technical quality, defensive intelligence, and good timing in their rotations.

Tottenham totally dominated Chelsea, enjoying 69% possession at Stamford Bridge in the 2-0 win, and Tonali and Fernandes played a major role in that success with their play on and off the ball.

The Lilywhites spent a lot of money to bring the two midfielders to North London in the summer, committing £185m for the two of them combined, and their showing against the Blues explained why.

Tonali and Fernandes have all the attributes to become an incredible pairing for Spurs, in the same way that Kane and Son were throughout their time at the club.

Whilst the Italian and Portuguese stars will not score and assist goals at an exceptional rate, as the other pairing did, they could be just as effective with the way that they can control and dominate games, which is why they should be totally undroppable right now.

Kane and Son only won one game at Stamford Bridge as a pairing, in 2018, whilst Tonali and Fernandes have just matched that total in their first appearance together at the ground.