{"id":1499319,"date":"2026-10-02T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?post_type=features&p=1499319"},"modified":"2026-10-02T14:01:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T13:01:53","slug":"england-analysis-harry-kane-replacements","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/england-analysis-harry-kane-replacements\/","title":{"rendered":"How England can look to replace Harry Kane long-term"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“You will not get another Harry Kane<\/a>.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those were the encouraging words of Thomas Tuchel<\/a> after Kane scored his 87th England<\/a> goal to help them beat Czech Republic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kane is England’s all-time leading scorer and is just three appearances away from being their most-capped man. He holds a host of records for the Three Lions, including scoring the most goals at World Cups and major tournaments outright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Kane’s quality has been both a blessing and a curse. While it’s great having a goalscorer of Kane’s quality, the Three Lions have put all their eggs in one basket. When Kane is injured, or fatigued because he plays so much, England suffer. And they haven’t really got anyone to replace him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuchel has said a solution will need to be found to replace Kane, whether that’s now or 10 years down the line. The question is, how do England do it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can England replace Harry Kane?<\/h2>
  • Jude Bellingham<\/a><\/li>
  • Recent striker alternatives<\/a><\/li>
  • Pathway for the future<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

    Jude Bellingham<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    When talking about other options, Tuchel namedropped Jude Bellingham. Even at this stage with all of Kane’s qualities, it feels like a lot of England’s potential success rests on Bellingham. He is the star of the show, as shown by the World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Bellingham was England’s top scorer at the World Cup with seven goals, while also providing one assist. Only Kylian Mbappe (14) and Lionel Messi<\/a> (12) were directly involved in more goals than Bellingham’s eight. There was talk of Bellingham being favourite to win the Ballon d’Or had England gone all the way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Only Kane (23) had more shots at the World Cup than Bellingham’s 19 among England players. But the Real Madrid<\/a> man led the way for his 13 shots on target, with 68.42% accuracy. There was quality in his finishing too. Bellingham posted 3.06 Expected Goals at the World Cup, but he boosted that to 6.95 post-shot xG. He more-than doubled his chances of scoring based on his shot placement. The Englishman was the best finisher at the World Cup in that regard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Bellingham does it for club as well as country, too. Since his move to Real Madrid in 2023, Bellingham has scored 37 goals in 94 La Liga games. It places him seventh in the league during that time, which is excellent considering he isn’t a striker. And seven of those 37 goals have been headers, the sixth-most in the league.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The 23-year-old does all of this without hampering his creativity. Only four players have provided more assists in La Liga than Bellingham’s 20 since he joined the league. And he ranks 11th for his 142 chances created during that time. For England, only Declan Rice<\/a> (17) and Noni Madueke<\/a> (nine) created more chances at the 2026 World Cup than Bellingham’s eight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Recent striker alternatives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Dominic Calvert-Lewin is the only other recognised striker for England in their current squad. And that highlights the current issue for England. Not that Calvert-Lewin is a bad player. But he is 29 and has only played 13 times for England. Ollie Watkins<\/a> and Ivan Toney<\/a> didn’t make the current squad, but were at the World Cup. They have 34 caps between them, despite both being 30. Dominic Solanke<\/a> has also been called up this year, but has five caps having just turned 29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And none of them hold a candle to Kane. Although both Watkins and Toney come up well in the comparison, there is the asterisk of both playing in the Saudi Pro League. Neither’s success will be taken seriously and every callup now will be questioned.<\/p>\n\n\n