Manchester United legend and Plymouth Argyle manager Wayne Rooney has offered his thoughts on who could replace England striker Harry Kane.
The 31-year-old Bayern Munich star won his 100th cap for England during last month’s international break and he’s scored 68 goals for The Three Lions.
Kane was heavily criticised for his poor performances at Euro 2024. He didn’t look to be fit as he should have been replaced in the starting XI by Ollie Watkins or Ivan Toney as they often made a positive impact off the bench.
Former boss Gareth Southgate foolishly opted to stick with Kane, who has remained England’s first-choice striker under interim manager Lee Carsley.
Kane is nearing the end of his career and the 2026 World Cup is highly likely to be his final major tournament.
When discussing who could replace Kane, Rooney claimed Toney may have “ruined his chances” by ditching the Premier League for the Saudi Pro League.
“I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t know,” Rooney said during his appearance on talkSPORT when asked who could replace Kane.
READ: Harry Kane race almost (slowly) run but who can replace him for England?
“Ivan Toney went [to Euro 2024], Ollie Watkins went, [Dominic] Calvert-Lewin’s been off it the last few years. So, that’s up for grabs I think.
“Ivan Toney might have ruined his chances with his move [to Saudi Arabia]. So, you have Ollie Watkins and Callum Wilson’s had his injury issues.
“I don’t think there’s a standout player and this is when we’re talking about young players. For young players, who are maybe in their U18s or U21s, they will look and think about the next two to four years. We’ve seen it happen with Kobbie Mainoo who came into the squad.
“You might be looking and thinking, ‘I might be the next England no.9.’ That should give you that desire and that drive to go and push for that.”
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Toney was not included in Carsley’s squad for this international break, but England’s interim boss refused to rule out the prospect of him making a comeback.
“I think ultimately as an interim head coach I don’t think I can rule anyone in or out. It would be really interesting to go out and see Ivan play and see the level and see the tempo and see the standard,” Carsley said.
“We’ve got access to the games so I’ll definitely be following his progression out there. It would be good to go and see an actual live game to get a feel of the atmosphere and the pace of the game because sometimes you don’t quite get that on a video.
“So, yeah, he’s definitely not ruled out. We have to be mindful… I’ve got a perception of the football out there but I’ve not been out there and seen it.
“So I think it would be reckless to rule somebody in or out so he’s definitely not ruled out and yeah I would like to go and sample and see what the football’s like out there.”
