The Argentinian talked up the ability of the Tottenham Hotspur and England forward and asked the question who is currently better in his striker position?

Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino hailed Harry Kane as world class after the striker smashed the record number of Premier League goals scored in a calendar year with a match-winning hat-trick on Boxing Day.

Kane needed just one strike to surpass Alan Shearer’s 22-year-old record of 36 goals, but he broke it in style with a superb Wembley treble in the 5-2 beating of Southampton.

The England international, who has made history in just 36 appearances compared to Shearer’s 42 for Blackburn in 1995, put Spurs into a two-goal half-time lead with a close-range header and a simple tap-in before completing his second successive hat-trick with a dinked finish over Saints goalkeeper Fraser Forster for his side’s fifth.

Kane’s third goal also moved him ahead of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi for the most goals for club and country by any player in Europe’s major leagues in 2017, delighting Pochettino.

“First of all I want to congratulate Harry Kane, it is a massive achievement for him and well deserved,” said the Argentinian coach.

“And we are all so, so, so, so happy because it’s an amazing thing to celebrate. For me, he’s world class. I think number one striker in the world, specific position, who’s better than him?

“I think he’s one of the best because it’s difficult to say he’s the best but he showed to everyone that he’s one of the best. We are so proud about all that he has achieved.

“It’s double happiness because it’s a player you trust and all that he is, he deserves because he’s professional and he cares for himself.”

After Spurs controlled the first half in front of a relatively subdued crowd, the game became more end-to-end after the restart.

Dele Alli and Heung-min Son each struck to make it 4-0 to Tottenham, while Saints pulled goals back through Sofiane Boufal and substitute Dusan Tadic.

Although Pochettino would have preferred a Spurs clean sheet, he was happy enough after seeing them finish 2017 in style under the arch.

He added: “I am so pleased to finish in this way the year and I’m looking forward now to the next year. I think it was good to finish this way here in Wembley.”