Harry Kane’s telling reaction to Tottenham collapse at Newcastle sees Nagelsmann fear grow

Tottenham’s capitulation in their 6-1 defeat to Newcastle will have not only dealt a major blow to Spurs’ top-four ambitions, but cast doubt on the future of several of their stars as the current state of the club was laid bare for all to see. Braces from Jacob Murphy and Alexander Isak in addition to Joelinton’s finish gave the hosts a sensational 5-0 lead inside 21 minutes at St James’ Park. Harry Kane then scored a consolation before Callum Wilson’s finish completed the scoring. Express Sport looks at the key talking points from the game – including the England captain’s telling reaction.

New formation backfires

Cristian Stellini opted to change the system amid injuries to Ben Davies and Clement Lenglet, as Spurs lined up in a 4-3-3 shape – a rare occurrence since the interim boss and Antonio Conte moved to north London.

However, the decision backfired as Newcastle’s second goal especially highlighted the issue of using Pedro Porro in a back four. The Spanish defender had no idea that Joelinton was making a run behind him from Fabian Schar’s long ball and the Brazilian went round Hugo Lloris to further shellshock the travelling supporters.

Stellini then was forced to bring Davinson Sanchez on for Pape Matar Sarr after 23 minutes and revert to a back-five shape in order to damage limitations after an embarrassing start to the game.

Lloris upgrade necessary

Plans have reportedly been put in motion to recruit a new goalkeeper in the summer, but Lloris’ error for the opening goal on Tyneside. Joelinton cut inside and his tame shot was parried by the Frenchman straight into the path of Murphy to send the home crowd into raptures just 61 seconds into the game and he continued to be unable to keep the hosts at bay.

Brentford’s David Raya has been among the names mentioned but whether the Spurs hierarchy deem that a new first-choice goalkeeper a priority remains to be seen, though Lloris’ latest display could help convince Daniel Levy that a new stopper is necessary.

Lloris was substituted off at half-time for Fraser Forster after conceding five goals, though the explanation given was that the 36-year-old had picked up an injury in the opening 45 minutes.

Harry Kane reaction

The entire Spurs team was dejected after shipping five goals to a rival in the race for the Champions League places, as Kane was no exception. He was pictured struggling to come to terms with the thought that his side had managed to concede on five occasions within 20 minutes.

Kane did attempt to rally his team-mates but it was a struggle to get a message through to the team in their frail state. He is set to go another year without a trophy to his name as fears grow over his future – with one year left on his current deal this summer – results and performances such as this will not have provided confidence that he will opt to stay at the club amid interest from Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.

Kane may quit

Arsenal icon Alan Smith on commentary for Sky Sports pondered “what would Harry Kane think about this?” as United supporters were quick to take to social media to suggest that this result will only further convince the 29-year-old that he should make the move to Old Trafford this summer.

Without a sporting director or head coach and morale likely to be at an all-time low, the situation at Spurs is precarious and few would question Kane if he did think that he had achieved all that he can with the club and it is now time for a change.

Blow for Nagelsmann hopes

Julian Nagelsmann had reportedly been open to taking over at Spurs next season after dropping out of the race for the Chelsea job. However, if the German had been watching then he will have had second thoughts over moving to north London.

The team clearly needs a dramatic overhaul and is not currently suited to a back four, while Kane’s future is undecided and Son Heung-min’s form this season has dropped dramatically.

Nagelsmann may feel that he has the managerial acumen to turn the club around and fancies the challenge, but the former Bayern Munich head coach will be aware of how much work needs to be done in order for Spurs to realise their long-term goals.