Ex-West Ham United attacker Dean Ashton has explained why Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane is not a complete striker just yet.

Kane is undoubtedly one of the best strikers in the Premier League at the moment and the 23-year-old took his tally for the season to 19 goals with a stunning hat-trick in Spurs' 3-0 FA Cup triumph over Fulham on Sunday.

Ashton is a keen admirer of Kane's abilities but has explained that the England international is still not a complete striker due to the fact that he lacks the required 'nastiness' in his game.

Asked if Kane is the complete striker, Ashton told talkSPORT: "No. He is an unbelievable striker, he's so clinical even with his weaker foot and he's improving all the time. But there's so much more he needs to improve on.

"If he looks at the top English strikers we've had, and the top man Alan Shearer in particular – Kane is still so far off him at the moment.

"He hasn't got an ounce of nastiness in him, which he needs. You need a little bit of that if you're going to be absolutely at the very top and be regarded as one of the top strikers. You need that nastiness.

"He can really add to his game in that sense – he doesn't win enough headers, he doesn't really look like he wants to be in those battles. He's 6ft 2in - you need to be in those battles as a tall striker.

"You saw against Liverpool, he did nowhere near enough in that game. His goal record is fantastic, it speaks for itself, but there's five hat-tricks in there and there have been a few games where he hasn't been involved enough, and that's where he can improve.

"Be more of a nuisance, make more of certain balls, be more aggressive when he's in the box and score more headers. We're talking about a really great striker already, but I just think there's so much more he can improve on."