Former Sky Sports presenter Richard Keys believes England need a new captain - and has suggested who Harry Kane's replacement should be.
Keys, 67, is not afraid to offer his opinion on football – although not everyone always agrees with his insight.
The beIN Sports anchor previously described how the England forward “stunk the place out” during Euro 2024 despite Kane, 31, leading the Three Lions to the final of the tournament.
“Kane stunk the place out,” Keys wrote in his blog the day after the Euros final. “He had to be carrying an injury surely? He couldn’t have been as bad as he was unless that was the case.
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“I’m sorry to say it – but it’s got to be over for him. With the likes of Toney and Watkins available, why persist with Kane? Perhaps England could go in a different direction and not play with a traditional nine? Maybe Bellingham could do a job at the top end? That way you get more ‘players’ in the team.”
Since then, Kane has continued scoring goals having already registered 32 strikes and 11 assists in 37 games for the Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich this term.
But Keys has not changed his mind and even suggested that Thomas Tuchel’s side needs a new captain.
“New era - so England need a new captain,” Keys posted on X on Friday.
“I’d go [Declan] Rice now – [Jude] Bellingham next. Kane’s race is run. He’s too closely associated with another failed era. I’m not sure I’d even start him but Tuchel will for a few games.”
Although Kane has yet to win a trophy in his career, he has overseen the most successful period in the nation’s footballing history since the 1966 World Cup triumph.
Gareth Southgate named the former Tottenham Hotspur striker as skipper ahead of the 2018 World Cup, in which England reached the semi-finals.
Three years later at Euro 2020 (held in 2021), he captained the side to the final and at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar he led them to the last eight before they were knocked out by France.
From a personal perspective, the 31-year-old has netted 69 times for his country, making him the Three Lions’ record goal scorer – 16 more than second-placed Wayne Rooney (53).
Kane explained how he feels "taken for granted" in a press conference on Friday.
"People take it for granted and maybe a little bit with England as well," Kane said. "I've scored 69 goals and when you score against Albania or Latvia, or these teams, people just expect it so it's not spoken about so much.
"If I was 25 now and doing what I'm doing, the excitement around me would maybe be a little bit different to what it is now. That's part of where we are with football. I've seen it with some other players as they get into their 30s."
Topics: England, Harry Kane, Richard Keys, Bayern Munich, Bundesliga, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham
Luke Davies