LAST weekend’s 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest was more indicative of the progress Tottenham Hotspur have made under Antonio Conte than the three previous games of their unbeaten start to the 2022-23 season.

The scoreline suggested a degree of comfort for the visitors to the City Ground, yet Spurs’ performance demonstrated anything but. Forest impressed on and off the ball as Tottenham struggled to find a foothold.

It was a match past iterations of the north London side would have lost, and the gritty grinding out of three points appeared only to cement in Conte’s mind the importance of the foundation stone upon which he is attempting to build.

“For sure, I would like Harry to sign a new contract,” the Spurs manager said of Harry Kane, who scored either side of seeing a penalty saved by Forest goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

“We are talking about a world-class striker and a player who in this moment is the most representative player for Tottenham.”

“It is very important to see him happy, totally involved with this season, totally involved in this project and in what we are doing. For me, this is the most important thing. Then, it’s a decision that the player and the club have to take.”

It’s little wonder that Conte is so keen to see Kane commit to Tottenham beyond his current contract, which is set to expire in the summer of 2024. The England striker’s brace in the East Midlands took his tally for the new campaign to four goals from four games. Without those strikes, Spurs would’ve had just five points to show for their efforts after the Forest win, instead of the impressive 10 they had accumulated – Kane’s goals have been the difference in wins over Wolves and Forest, and his last-gasp header earned a point against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Under Conte, Spurs have improved dramatically to the point they were many people’s pick to be the closest challengers to established top dogs Manchester City and Liverpool this season. But they are also still a work in progress. New players are settling and the manager is still figuring out the precise roles a handful of his charges will operate in this term.

A draw away to West Ham represents a respectful point earned for any Premier League side, but such is Tottenham’s ambition and confidence at present that they will view Wednesday evening’s 1-1 stalemate at the London Stadium as two points dropped rather than one gained.

But while Conte continues to mould his Spurs side into the kind of winning machine he is renowned for constructing, Kane’s reliability at the point of attack makes the Tottenham vice-captain perhaps as valuable to his side as he has ever been. The three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner has never scored fewer than 24 goals in any of the eight full seasons since his breakthrough into the first team. And this term he is shaping up to deliver yet another impressive haul.

While the parts around him are still moving into place and while there remains a degree of flux as Conte tweaks and tinkers, the fact Kane provides few surprises, that his output is dependable to the point of predictability, offers invaluable comfort to the manager. Rearing a title contender from the embers of previous near misses and under-achievement appears a much less daunting task when one can call upon the services of one of the best strikers in the world who, at 29, remains at the peak of his powers.

Kane’s fine start to the 2022-23 season has brought records into view, reigniting the question of whether he will eventually eclipse Alan Shearer’s high mark of 260 goals to become the Premier League’s all-time leading scorer. Kane needs 74 more goals to claim that distinction outright. Injuries permitting, if he continues to bag at his current career rate of 0.66 goals per game, he could conceivably surpass Shearer early in the 2025-26 campaign, at age 32.

And, just three goals shy of Wayne Rooney’s record, Kane could enter this winter’s World Cup as England’s highest-ever scorer. If not, he will almost certainly surpass the former Everton and Manchester United striker’s benchmark during the tournament in Qatar.

But these long-view individual accolades fade into insignificance compared with the ambition Kane shares with his managers at both club and international level. For Conte and Gareth Southgate, Kane is the bedrock of everything they hope to achieve.

“We’re aiming to be successful and win something,” Kane said after helping Spurs see off Nottingham Forest.

“We’ve got a fantastic manager and we’ve got a really strong squad. The fans are excited and that’s great but there’s a lot of games to play.

“We’re in a good place. We’ve started well, but as we know in the Premier League it can soon turn round. We’ve got to keep focused, keep working and see what we can get.”

Spearheaded by an in-form Kane, there are few limits to what Spurs and England can get this season.