Harry Kane's record on Boxing Day
By Max Parsons
Christmas is a very special time of year.
Children await the arrival of Father Christmas down the chimney, while parents await the early-morning destruction of carefully folded wrapping paper and the time of day at which the Baileys can come out.
Meanwhile, Harry Kane awaits Boxing Day - when he invariably bangs in the goals. The Tottenham striker's record on Boxing Day is quite phenomenal, with Spurs usually winning on the traditionally football-littered day since his rise to prominence.
How many goals has Harry Kane scored on Boxing Day?
Simply put, a lot.
After only joining Leyton Orient, Millwall and Leicester in January and barely featuring for Norwich during his respective loan spells, Kane's first involvement in a Boxing Day fixture came in his first full breakout season with Tottenham back in the 2014-15 campaign. It took the striker one minute to hit the back of the net as he returned to the Foxes, with Spurs eventually running out 2-1 winners.
The England captain would go on to score twice the year after, as Tottenham beat another of Kane's old teams, Norwich, 3-0 on Boxing Day.
His next fixture on 26 December would come two seasons later as Spurs hosted Southampton during the 2017/18 campaign. Kane took no prisoners on the day, sinking the Saints' festive spirit with a hat-trick as the teams played out a cracker, with his side earning a 5-2 victory.
Kane would go on to score on Boxing Day in the two following seasons, as well, netting one in a 5-0 win over Bournemouth in 2018 and another in a 2-1 victory against Brighton in 2019.
His latest involvement in a Boxing Day clash came last year as Spurs beat Crystal Palace 3-0 in a London derby. Inevitably, Kane was once more on the scoresheet, bagging his side's first.
In six Boxing Day fixtures, spanning back eight years, Kane has scored a pretty healthy nine goals - although is still awaiting a first Boxing Day assist.
Who are Tottenham playing on Boxing Day this year?
The last time Tottenham didn't win a Boxing Day fixture was the last time Kane wasn't in the side for it - all the way back in 2013. So, nearly a decade later, with six consecutive victories on 26 December, it's bad news for Brentford, who host Spurs on Monday.
Kane broke up for the World Cup having netted 12 league goals and, as Tottenham gear up to return to Premier League action, he'll be raring to go to maintain that goal-scoring momentum on one of his favourite days of the year.