FUTURE HEADACHE? Tuchel sends brutal reality check over England finding Kane replacement

Thomas Tuchel has warned England will never have another Harry Kane.

Kane, 33, is just 13 goals away from reaching 100 for England and will go down as the nation’s greatest-ever striker. England captain Kane is also just two caps from equalling Peter Shilton’s record of 125 appearances.

It was Tuchel who was manager when Bayern Munich signed Kane in 2023 and club legend Ali Hoeness even called him “Bayern’s greatest-ever signing.”

Kane is always chasing records and needs just 13 goals to reach the century landmark. Tuchel said: “He is closing in. He scored again. 13 left. That’s 13 matches.”

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A while ago, it looked like a dream for Kane to reach 100. Now it looks just a matter of time or just another 13 games, according to Tuchel. England boss Tuchel has a special bond with Kane as captain and manager but also they have become close and reliant on each other.

Kane sets the tone, is the voice in the dressing room and Tuchel also says that he sets the tone with his hunger and desire and training. That is also what makes him a great striker.

Tuchel said: “What is there to say? He does it in every single match. The highest level of goalscorer, of finishing.

“You were there for maybe the first 15 minutes open training session on a minus two and he is on the second lap over on the left at the front. He is not behind, he is not slow, he is not doing his shoes.

“He is the first one out there and then we play some little boxes in training, he is the first one to push everyone and that is his mindset and he became a very, very hard-working forward on top of his finishing skills. He is a complete package.”

Kane is also red-hot favourite to win the Ballon d’Or after his 73 goal haul last season for club and country which helped Bayern win the Treble.

The England striker has become a legend in Germany and Tuchel is full of pride to see him do so well for Bayern, even being labelled their greatest-ever signing.

Tuchel said: “That is so beautiful as it tells me everyone can see his true value and his personality and that he imposed that into a big club like Bayern Munich and he gets the full praise for it and that is very, very impressive.

“It is not easy to change and to come to Bayern Munich when you win, win, win and it is a big club. You are under the spotlight and he won everyone over with his quality, work ethic and his personality. It is a beautiful story.”

But the bigger issue for England is how do you replace Kane? There is no obvious candidate. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is in this squad and is surely the closest but it feels impossible to step into the shoes of a national treasure.

There is also an amazing stat the only English striker under the age of 27 to score a Champions League goal is Liam Delap. It is a worry.

But Tuchel believes it is a waste of time trying to replace him - and England need to find different solutions. Jude Bellingham virtually played up front in a 4-4-2 in the World Cup and came on up front against Czech Republic.

Tuchel added: “You will not get another Harry Kane, first of all. We look for different options and solutions. We finished the game with Jude up front as a No 9.

“There will be someone else but it will not be Harry or a copy of Harry. We will find a solution when it comes to it but maybe not me. It might be another 10 years.

“I like Jude as a 9. Then he can contribute to both sides and overloads the sides and doesn't affect so much of the balance, we found a bit of a new role for him in the last match, as a central 10, so he can go to both sides and it is more of a 4-2-3-1 than a 4-3-3 to have Harry and Jude closer together and to give them a chance to overload both sides.

“We are working on that. Jude in general should always be able to go through the last line and should always be able to end up in the box.

“He is a natural goalscorer and he has the hunger to be on the scoreboard. He wants to be there and have the decisive action so it makes not a huge difference if he plays as a 9 or a 10.”