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With Harry Kane reaching 100 caps for England, we look at the up-and-coming strikers who could replace him when the time comes.
There was never any real question that Harry Kane was still a great striker, even after a lacklustre performance at Euro 2024, and even after a three rather frustrating halves of Nations League football against the Republic of Ireland and Finland. Eventually, the chances came, the finishes were quite brilliant, and England’s latest centurion celebrated his hundredth cap with a brilliant brace to win the game at Wembley.
Now 31 years old, this summer was perhaps the first time that the former Tottenham Hotspur striker had showed any signs of slowing down. He certainly didn’t look too sluggish last season, his first with Bayern Munich, when he bagged 44 goals in 45 games and finished as the Bundesliga’s top scorer – but still, those goals against the Finns will likely have been met with a sigh of relief at The FA headquarters, because when the day comes to replace him, it’s going to create a major problem.
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That isn’t just because he’s an exceptional player, but because England seems to have stopped producing strikers, at least in any number. The best technical players and the biggest goal-scoring talents are now being funnelled towards wide positions in youth academies, and number nines are becoming a rare breed. The current crop may not be much help, either. Should Kane retire from international duty after the next World Cup, say, Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney would be 30 already. Able to contribute, sure, but not long-term solutions, and it’s an optimist who expects Dominic Calvert-Lewin to stay fit enough for long enough.
So who can replace Kane when he goes? Who can we expect to lead the line at the next European Championships if the captain has hung his boots up by then at the age of 35? We’ve looked to the future to determine who will be the main man for years to come…
Dominic Solanke – Tottenham Hotspur
The obvious place to start, Solanke is 26 now and entering what should be his prime years off the back of a hugely impressive 21-goal season with Bournemouth. He’s a ‘genuine’ striker who has a long and storied history with the England age group sides – all of which makes it even more of an oddity that he has just one cap to his name, which was handed to him seven long years ago when he was still a teenager. The fact that he didn’t even make Gareth Southgate’s extended training squad ahead of Euro 2024 strongly suggests that he doesn’t have a huge fan base at St. George’s Park, but perhaps Lee Carsley would have called him up had he been fit. There’s also the fact that he only has one seriously strong top-flight season behind him, and perhaps he has more to prove than we might think. Still the clear favourite, surely.
Jaden Philogene-Bidace – Aston Villa
Of course, the various younger forwards who are only just starting their journeys at the highest level have even more to prove. Philogene-Bidace, who was re-signed by Aston Villa after impressing in the Championship with Hull City, is also a winger rather than a striker, but the sheer volume of wide forwards coming through the youth ranks across England suggests that trying to convert a less traditional striker into a number nine may be necessary, or at least an experiment worth trying at some stage. 12 goals in 32 games last season demonstrated at least some of the finishing instincts required, and he should have the technique and pace to be effective off the shoulder of the last man as well.
Dane Scarlett – Oxford United (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur)
Speaking of which, it’s worth noting that England Under-21s won the European Championships under Carsley in 2023 without starting a ‘recognised’ striker, but the England Under-19s team that won their equivalent competition in 2022 did have a couple, including the highly-rated Scarlett. Now 20, he has yet to make his breakthrough at Spurs but has a formidable goal-scoring record at youth level (including 23 goals in 36 games across the various England sides). A loan spell in the second tier with Oxford United could tell us more about his prospects – it worked for Kane, anyway. Bournemouth’s Daniel Jebbison is another member of that Under-19 side to watch out for, and he’ll spend this season with Watford.
Tammy Abraham – AC Milan (on loan from AS Roma)
If we’re going to prematurely write Calvert-Lewin off, it may not be especially sensible to suggest the 26-year-old Abraham, who started his career in Serie A off like a train but has since found his progress derailed by injury problems. He only managed 12 matches last season and hasn’t been afforded the chance to replicate his 2021/22 campaign when he bagged 27 inside 53 matches. But the technique and talent is unquestionably still there. Perhaps his loan spell in Milan will help him get back to his best, and if that happens then has will surely be in contention for more caps.
Liam Delap – Ipswich Town
The Tractor Boys have put a lot of faith in Delap to help them lead the line in a relegation battle after spending up to £20m to sign him from Manchester City. Not necessarily a natural number nine but a forward who drops back and runs the channels, he still has a very solid goal-scoring record and bagged eight on loan at Hull last year. If he can get those numbers going northwards in what may well be a difficult season in Suffolk, then the 21-year-old could easily force himself into long-term discussions.
Cameron Archer – Southampton
While England’s Under-21s may have started without a striker when they won the Euros last year, they did have Archer coming off the bench. Able to play on the wing as well, Archer has good speed and movement but needs to up his volume of goals, for his sake as well as Southampton’s. A return of just four goals last year was forgivable given the mess that his Sheffield United side was in, but the 22-year-old will want to push for double figures to prove that he’s on the right track. Not that young strikers aren’t allowed a slow start. After all, it took Solanke a while to get up to speed at the senior level.
Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid
Of course, the answer could be right under our noses already – and under Carlo Ancelotti’s arched eyebrow. The boy wonder Bellingham was unexpectedly used as a false nine in Spain last season and started the season in scintillating goal-scoring form, demonstrating hitherto unrealised skill in the six yard box and a genuine aerial threat. His scoring rate slowed a little as the season went on but he still bagged 23 goals in 42 matches as he won the league and Champions League double. England may not need to look all that far for Kane’s replacement at all.