3 ways England could improve to compete with the elite

#3 Find a strong backup option up front

England need to find a backup striker to prevent Harry Kane from burning himself out

Harry Kane was awarded the 2018 World Cup’s Golden Boot this weekend for his scoring exploits in Russia this summer – he scored 6 goals, the most of any player during the tournament – but it’s safe to say that right now, he isn’t firing on all cylinders. Kane has barely come under criticism for his performances as it’s quite clear that the effort is there, but it’s also clear that he looks tired right now.

It’s hardly a surprise. Since returning from an ankle injury in the spring, Kane has barely had time to draw a breath, as he’s hardly missed a game for Tottenham and England. Sure, he’s scored plenty of goals during that time – in the World Cup most notably – but he’s also appeared to be struggling for the Three Lions since his tremendous performance against Colombia in the round of 16 on the 3rd July.

The issue for England is that they hardly have a plethora of great strikers to call upon as a backup. Marcus Rashford has been deployed in the role but isn’t a pure striker like Kane – as his finishing proved against Spain – while Jamie Vardy has retired from international football. That means that finding a solid backup for Kane is a must before the next round of international fixtures.

Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson has been mentioned recently and surely deserves a shot – he’s suffered from bad injuries but when he’s been fit he has been a consistent goalscorer, and has already hit 2 goals this season. He also has past history with Southgate, having been capped by England U21 while Southgate managed them.

Other options could include Danny Ings – who is currently attempting to resurrect his stalled career at Southampton – and the already-capped duo of Tammy Abraham and Dominic Solanke. Issues surround all three, though – Abraham is now playing in the Championship with Aston Villa, Solanke is struggling for playing time at Liverpool, and Ings has barely played over the past few seasons.

A wildcard option could be Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin – who scored the winner for England U20 in their 2017 World Cup triumph, and already has 3 goals this season – but again, playing time is the key.

Regardless, this is an area that Southgate needs to look at as soon as possible, otherwise, the risk of Kane suffering from serious burnout becomes ever more likely going forward.