Herbie Kane - Town's New Midfield Maestro
Joel Grainger, Writer.
Twitter: @joelgraingerr
Former Barnsley midfielder Herbie Kane has linked up with former boss Michael Duff and joined Huddersfield Town, signing a three-year deal. He follows wing-backs Lasse Sorensen and Mickel Miller through the door, becoming Town’s third signing of the summer. In this article, I will take a look at Kane’s career so far and explain exactly how he will improve Town’s midfield.
His Career So Far
Kane began his professional career at Liverpool. As a youngster, the midfielder was held in high regard, in 2018 he was nominated for the Golden Boy award.
In August of 2018, Kane was sent on loan to League One Doncaster Rovers. This loan was a much-welcomed break into the men’s game for Kane, he contributed to 16 goals in 49 games during his first professional season.
Subsequently, in the 2019/20 season, Kane would make 2 EFL trophy appearances for Liverpool before heading out on loan to Championship side Hull City in January. This loan was less successful; Kane made just 9 appearances, scoring 2 goals, both from direct free-kicks.
The following summer, Kane departed Liverpool permanently, joining our very own Michal Helik in signing for Barnsley. A £1.2m transfer fee was paid for Kane’s services. In his first season for the Tykes, Kane made 27 appearances as they defied the odds and finished 5th in the Championship table before being unfortunately beaten by Swansea City in the playoff semi-finals.
After spending a season in and out of the Barnsley team, Kane was loaned back into League One, joining Oxford United for the 2021/22 season. He would enjoy another strong season at League One level, assisting 6 goals and playing a key role as Oxford narrowly missed out on a play-off position, finishing 8th.
As Barnsley were relegated back into League One, Kane would return to the club and link up with new manager, a certain Michael Duff. The creative midfielder became a mainstay in the Barnsley XI, he thrived under the guidance of Duff and registered 3 goals and 7 assists, once again helping Barnsley secure a play-off place. This time, Barnsley would lose out in the dying moments at Wembley to, funnily enough, Darren Moore’s Sheffield Wednesday.
In what would turn out to be his final season in a Barnsley shirt, Kane produced yet another splendid season, further proving his quality at this level. He scored 10 goals and assisted 5 as Barnsley, once again, finished in the play-offs. Unsurprisingly to most, they were beaten in the semi-finals, this time by Bolton Wanderers.
On the 17th of May, Barnsley announced Kane would leave the club following the expiry of his contract.
So, here we are, Kane joins up with his former gaffer and signs for Huddersfield Town, penning a three-year deal. His stature at this level is well known but what exactly can we expect to see from the 25-year-old this season? Let’s take a look.
Herbie Kane - What can we expect?
If you have read my summer rebuild article, you’ll know Kane was a signing I recommended to fix a lot of Town’s midfield problems. He is able to control the tempo of a match and provide a creative, goal scoring threat from midfield.
Firstly, and for me, most importantly, Kane brings creativity in abundance; last season he created 1.7 chances per 90 minutes. In games where we have more of the ball, expect to see Kane getting involved in every passage of play, he thrives with the ball at his feet. His possession abilities are top-tier: his touch, awareness, and weight of pass are all strong attributes.
His ball-striking technique is superb, this makes him a real threat when shooting from outside the box, he scored 3 goals from outside of the 18-yard box last campaign. I expect to see Kane regularly test defenders and goalkeepers from dead-ball scenarios, he strikes a wonderful free kick.
Defensively, stats suggest that Kane is best at winning possession in the final third. Mostly, he is the complete antithesis of David Kasumu, everything that Kasumu excels at in terms of ball-winning and tenacity, Kane possesses similar technical attributes. The physical side of his game is definitely a weak point, at times he has been labelled as slow and passive. However, if paired with a quicker, busier midfielder such as Kasumu or Wiles, these weaknesses should hopefully be negated.
During buildup play, expect to see Kane dropping in to help the defenders retain possession as we look to build out from the back. His ball-playing abilities will be key in helping us break through a press and low blocks alike. Once we move the ball further up the pitch, he likes to take up positions on the edge of the area, looking to craft a chance for a teammate or go for glory himself.
To Conclude!
Stylistically, Kane is a near-perfect addition to begin to solve our midfield woes. His injury record is very good, it’s vital that we are able to keep him fit. Having worked with Duff before, I expect him to fit seamlessly into his tactical setup. The fact Duff has taken the chance to work with Kane again is a testament to his character. As we know, great character and relentless work rate are imperative mental factors in a Michael Duff team. Overall, I have very high hopes for what Herbie Kane can achieve in a Huddersfield Town shirt. Let’s hope he lives up to the expectations.