2030 World Cup aim
Who Replaces Harry Kane? England’s most valuable U30 striker options are bleak
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There was yet more pain for Harry Kane in a major tournament with England after Argentina knocked them out in the World Cup semi-final. After taking the lead, the Three Lions completely surrendered as they parked the bus and it felt inevitable that Argentina would score after bombarding their backline. Thomas Tuchel’s incredibly defensive changes and approach has rightly dominated the fallout but there is a major problem approaching on the horizon for England – replacing Harry Kane. The 32-year-old enjoyed a good tournament with six goals but he posted missing against Argentina as he dropped incredibly deep and looked exhausted – he’s now only scored one non-penalty goal in six semi-finals or finals for England.
Most valuable
English strikers
Kane has been his nation’s talisman for almost a decade and is their all-time top scorer. The Bayern Munich striker will be 36 at the next World Cup and it seems incredibly unlikely that he will be England’s starting number nine, despite his desire to continue. Asked about his hopes of playing in 2030, Kane replied: “It’s too early to talk about that. I mean, as a person, it’s always just about taking it year by year and how I feel. The national team is my pride and joy. It’s what I love to do most, more than anything. Obviously, four years is a long way away. I’m 33 in the summer, but as you saw on the other end with (Lionel) Messi there, he’s still performing at the highest level. So, I never want to put a limit on these things.” Kane will still likely be involved at Euro 2028 but the options, as it stands, at centre forward for the next World Cup looks woefully bleak.
England’s striker options for the future
Firstly, football is not linear and youngsters can emerge to be superstars like Wayne Rooney famously did for England. However, we’ve analysed the top 20 most valuable English strikers on Transfermarkt that are currently under 30 and it’s not a list that will provide any confidence for the future. Kane was joined by Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney in Tuchel’s squad this summer but both will be in their mid-thirties by the next World Cup and won’t realistically be leading the line.
As the graphic below illustrates, Liam Delap and Dominic Solanke are the most valuable strikers under 30 and neither excelled last season for their respective clubs. Dominic Calvert-Lewin ranks third at €22m but he won’t be involved at 33 by the time the next World Cup arrives. The worrying thing for England will be that the majority of players on this list are nowhere near good enough to be playing international football. There will be hope that a few incredibly talented youngsters can develop into elite strikers like Brian Madjo, Divin Mubama or Shumaira Mheuka.
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