'He was always unbelievable': Irish League star reflects on playing with Ballon d'Or winner Harry Kane at Tottenham Hotspur

Having scored 73 goals for Bayern Munich and England across a season which included a second Bundesliga title and third-placed World Cup finish, he pipped fellow superstars Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal to football’s top individual prize.

Like every athlete operating at the top of their respective field, Kane's journey started well before Monday’s glitzy ceremony, putting in countless hours over the years to perfect his craft.

Aaron McEneff got a clear insight into Kane’s insatiable hunger for goals and success during their time playing together in the academy ranks at Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur.

The current Glentoran ace earned a switch to the London club from Institute in 2012, compared to a "young Roy Keane" upon his arrival by Tim Sherwood, Tottenham’s technical director at the time.

Initially joining on scholarship terms, McEneff impressed to earn a professional deal – his final season was cruelly interrupted by a knee injury which kept him out for four months.

McEneff first played alongside Kane in a 4-1 U21 Premier League victory over Newcastle United in January 2014 - unsurprisingly, the English striker found the net and would score eight times alongside providing five assists in just eight matches that season.

By that stage, Kane had already been exposed to senior football through loan spells at Leyton Orient, Millwall, Leicester City and Norwich City - three months later, he netted on his Premier League debut and never looked back.

The characteristics which Kane displayed in those early days in Spurs’ academy team have helped bring him to the top of world football, and it was clear to McEneff his team-mate was destined for a successful career.

"I played with Harry in the U21s at Spurs for maybe around half a season,” McEneff told the News Letter. “He came back from a loan move and came away with us in pre-season on a trip to Portugal.

"In training, you could see real quality in terms of his finishing, it was always unbelievable.

"As the season went on, there were times where he would have carried us in games and always scoring goals, not just scoring goals, he could create goals as well.

"Then he got his chance for the first team and I would have trained with them quite a bit at the time. He seemed to go to another level.

"He was shooting from nearly anywhere on the pitch and they were going in.

"He was always a really, really good lad. He grafted after training, practising his finishing, genuinely every day he was at it.

"The thing that stuck in my head with Harry was we went away in the off-season that year when he just broke into the first team, he came back for pre-season and he was a proper physical specimen.

"I don't know what he'd done in the off-season, but he came back and you could tell it was a boy that was hungry to go and prove himself.

"The rest is history I suppose. I was absolutely delighted to see him win the Ballon d'Or.”

Kane has established a reputation as one of the most prolific goalscorers in recent history, netting 102 times in 101 league matches for Bayern, and could yet return to the Premier League to break Alan Shearer’s record – he requires a further 48 for top spot.

However, his game is about far more than purely goals, racking up almost 40 assists during his time in Germany so far, and McEneff believes his all-round ability is what sets Kane apart.

"You could play Harry anywhere on the pitch I think,” added McEneff. “His game has evolved that much.

"You seen even the other day he had a goal kick and put someone in one-on-one!

"He's not just the best striker in the world, he can do it all, a bit of everything really.

"The way he plays and with his game intelligence, I think he's got many more years at the highest level because his brain and his technique are probably his best attributes.”

Kane’s first social media message after collecting the Ballon d’Or was “work hard in silence, let success be your noise” – words which sum up the character beyond the goals.

"He was always sound,” said McEneff. “Around the place he would have been quiet enough, just there to do his work and work really hard.

"Any encounters I had with him in that short space of time, he was always nice and sound to me. Around the group he was a popular figure.

"You could tell he definitely had talent and when you put that with the graft that he's put in over the years, you never know where it's going to take you...it's taken him to the very top, which is unbelievable.”