THINK of Harry Kane and you think goals. In a phenomenal breakthrough season at Tottenham last season, the 22-year-old suddenly became one of the hottest prospects in Europe after scoring 31 times.

Tomorrow he will be at the Stadium of Light, one of the grounds where he failed to score last time around, sharing a tunnel and, potentially, a playing surface with a young man embarking on his own rise in the game.

If Duncan Watmore – who it was revealed this week has become only the second Premier League player to receive a first class honours degree at university - can enjoy a year when he scores a third of Kane’s rookie season total then he will have done amazingly – and he knows that.

And there is also no pressure on him to become an overnight sensation in the way that Kane did.

After the first month of the new season, both players have two goals. While Watmore’s talent in front of the posts was noted across the country for his substitute’s consolation goal against Norwich and then against Exeter in the Capital One Cup, his Tottenham counterpart had to wait until the international break.

And Kane’s two goals for England against San Marino and Switzerland last week – while Watmore was getting his chance and making an impression for the Under-21s under Gareth Southgate - were an indication of just how highly the Tottenham man has risen in the last 12 months.

Watmore said: “It’s great to hear stories like that and see players like Harry Kane come through like that and do well. It gives you hope that you can do it. You have to have belief in yourself that you can make it.

“He got his chance and he certainly did take it. He was unbelievable last year and he has got on to the England stage because of that. It gives encouragement to us all who are trying to get that break through.”

While it would seem a certainty, barring a late injury, that Kane will lead the line at Sunderland tomorrow, Watmore is not even sure if he will be on the bench named by Dick Advocaat following the arrival of Fabio Borini.

After the way Watmore has started, he should be. The 21-year-old, having moved from non-league club Altrincham just two years ago, is arguably the biggest positive of Sunderland’s season so far; even more so after impressing for the England Under-21s last week.

But such is his outlook on life and grounded nature, Watmore will not be complaining if Advocaat decides against calling on him on.

He said: “I want to get that start but I am in no rush to get it. I know how hard it is. It is the Premier League and it is a big step up. I have to keep doing well if I get a chance off the bench. I need to get that consistency but I am not in a particular rush.”

That should not be taken as a lack in confidence, far from it. He just feels that the best way to continue his development is to learn and progress gradually rather than jump straight in to see if he can sink or swim.

Watmore said: “It would have been arrogant of me to come from non-league thinking I would get straight in to the Premier League side. I didn’t think that at all. I knew I had to improve a lot.

“My personal development has come on a lot and the coaches here have put the effort in to get me there, I have learned so much from everyone here particularly working with Robbie Stockdale (Sunderland’s Under-21s coach). It was a shock when I came.

“You should never think you should be there on merit but you should believe you can get there – and I do. I still need a lot of work to get there and cement a place, but hopefully I will get there if I continue on this path.”

Watmore attained a first class honours degree in his economics and business management for his studies at Northumbria University alongside his football, which highlights his willingness to learn. Such a willingness to learn is exactly how he seems set for a long-stay at Premier League level.

“It’s about trying to play to my strengths ... I am better with the ball at my feet rather than with my back to goal,” said Watmore, who was the Under-21s Premier League player of the year last season.

“Every player goes through that learning process and it is about understanding what you are good at and what you are not. Had I come straight in then it would have been a massive shock to come in from non-league but now I have got to know some of the first team lads, I trained quite a lot last year with them. They know my game, I know their game.

“I feel like I am lot more comfortable over there with the first team lads. You are still playing with Premier League players and it is a great experience. But I do think I can impress now – and hopefully I will keep doing so.”