England boss Gareth Southgate waking up to nightmare without Harry Kane as he looks at alternatives

Point to prove: Marcus Rashford and Danny Welbeck look relaxed in training on Monday as they prepare to step in for Harry Kane
Getty Images
Simon Johnson11 September 2018

Of all the Premier League managers England coach Gareth Southgate can relate to the most, Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino has to be at the top of his list.

Both have different problems to solve in their jobs but they arguably share the biggest one of them all — namely how to cope without Harry Kane.

The striker carries the sizeable hopes of club and country on his shoulders and no one has come close to easing the burden in either team.

Another campaign has begun with people questioning Kane’s form and fitness but is it any wonder he may look fatigued given he has started 61 games since the start of last term and had little time off after the World Cup?

This is the reason why Southgate has selected him on the bench for England’s friendly against Switzerland, even though he faces the risk of making history for the wrong reasons by losing a fourth game in a row.

Unlike Southgate, Pochettino has a chequebook at his disposal to try to come up with a solution.

But as any Spurs fan will testify, Emmanuel Adebayor, Roberto Soldado, Vincent Janssen and Fernando Llorente have all tried and failed to provide suitable back-up to Kane.

Now that Jamie Vardy has effectively retired from international football — a forward who can’t be considered a massive loss given he scored just seven times in 26 caps — Southgate’s lack of options up front is worrying.

In his pre-match press conference, he was asked about the possibility of turning back to Vardy in the near future should the nightmare scenario occur that Kane suffers an injury.

Southgate replied: “No, not over the next few months because I think we have to invest in Marcus [Rashford] and Danny [Welbeck], Jesse [Lingard], Dele [Alli], the younger ones.

Vardy stepped down from international duty in August
PA

“There aren’t many English strikers playing. There are some older ones that have good goal-scoring records at club level but I’m not sure that is the route we want to go.

“We hope that a few of the younger ones will start games and develop. In the way we play, we can play a No9 but Dele or Jesse as a No10 as well, it doesn’t have to be two out-and-out strikers.”

The fact two attacking midfielders in Lingard and Alli — the latter is unavailable against the Swiss due to a leg-muscle injury — were named speaks volumes. Granted, there is the undoubted promise of Rashford, who will earn his 11th start at the King Power Stadium. But the 20-year-old has a record of four goals from 26 appearances and is seeing a lack of game time at Manchester United threaten his potential.

At 27, Welbeck can hardly be considered a youngster and like Rashford, is also used more as a substitute for his club, Arsenal. Arguably the biggest indication of just how serious the issue has become came with the unprompted mention of another candidate in line.

Southgate added: “I still have a lot of faith in the likes of Dominic Solanke in particular, who I think has been outstanding at every [England] age level.”

In Pictures | England vs Spain | 08/09/18

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It is worth noting that the 20-year-old has not played a single minute for Liverpool this season and has started just five games since joining them from Chelsea in 2017.

That is unlikely to change any time soon given the quality of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino in Liverpool’s attack.

Southgate doesn’t appear to be considering Daniel Sturridge any more, yet he is also ahead of Solanke in the pecking order at Anfield.

The 48-year-old left a little wriggle room when Theo Walcott’s name was mentioned, suggesting “the door is never closed for anybody”. But the overwhelming theme to emerge is that the overreliance on Kane is obvious. Even though the World Cup Golden Boot winner will be watching on the sidelines when tonight’s game kicks off, there are no guarantees he will remain there.

When asked if Kane is certain to be given a complete rest, Southgate replied: “No. I think the guys on the bench will be ready to come on.

“Some of the lads haven’t played that much and won’t be able to get through the 90 minutes without a performance dip or some element of risk.”

Main man: Captain Kane played a key role in England's only goal against Spain
REUTERS

If the 25-year-old ends up being used anyway, one could argue it defeats the point. Still, should England trail in the second half, Southgate will surely have to turn to his talisman. The remarkable achievement of reaching the semi-finals at the World Cup won’t be completely forgotten but no coach wants four successive defeats on their CV — even if two of those came at the end of that tournament.

“I am under no illusions, the goodwill won’t last very long — if it has beyond Saturday [after the 2-1 loss to Spain],” Southgate admitted. “The fans will understandably react to whatever performances and results we have, I’m completely aware of that.

“We also have to be strong enough to stick to the beliefs of the way we want to play and focus on the things that we can control.”

But just like Pochettino, Southgate will have to continue to rely on Kane remaining available for selection more often than not.

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