Quique Sanchez Flores wouldn't swap Odion Ighalo or Troy Deeney for Harry Kane

05 February 2016 13:23

Quique Sanchez Flores has stoked the fire ahead of Watford's Barclays Premier League clash against Tottenham by declaring he would not swap Odion Ighalo or Troy Deeney for Harry Kane.

England international Kane now has 14 goals from his last 15 league appearances after he scored a brace in Spurs' 3-0 victory at Norwich on Tuesday night.

But, when asked if he would prefer to have Kane in his side rather than Ighalo or Deeney, Flores replied: "No, no. I don't change my players for anyone."

Kane's league tally for the season stands at 15, which is one greater than Ighalo has managed, while Deeney has found the back of the net on six occasions. Hornets captain Deeney has also created 26 chances for Ighalo, which is more than any other player for a team-mate in the Premier League.

"(On Saturday) we have the opportunity to look at three of the best strikers in the league," Flores added. "Kane is a very good player and he is very important for them.

"Tottenham play really well in midfield with Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Mousa Dembele, but if you don't have a good striker it is impossible - and they have one of the best strikers in the league."

While Watford, who lost 2-1 against Spurs following Son Heung-min's 89th-minute winner back in December, will keep a keen eye on Kane, the ever-impressive Alli is also likely to be on their radar.

Alli scored his seventh goal of the season at Carrow Road before complaining of feeling dizzy at half-time. While the 19-year-old trained as normal on Thursday, he is expected to undergo further tests ahead of Watford's visit to White Hart Lane.

"To be honest, I did not know about him before, and it is a big surprise for the league the level of performance he is showing," Flores said of the former MK Dons man.

"He is important because he can do a lot of things in the same match. If you want to make pressure, he finds space and receives the ball. He is always running in the back of the defensive line, and he goes to the box like a striker.

"This kind of player has a very high value in terms of their participation with the team."

Watford are ninth in the table following a goalless draw against Chelsea on Wednesday night, but the match was overshadowed by an incident involving Juan Carlos Paredes and Diego Costa.

Paredes appeared to initiate the flare-up when he barged into the back of Costa. The Spain international responded by pushing Paredes, who went down holding his face and was subsequently accused of tying to get Costa sent off. Deeney later described the incident as "pathetic" and vowed to speak to team-mate Paredes about his conduct.

"I heard the comments from Troy and I understand," Flores said. "He said he doesn't like this kind of situation, but Deeney knows how the Premier League works and he wanted to say it is better if we don't repeat this situation on the pitch."

Source: PA