Harry can be Crem de la Prem
Harry Kane can shatter England legend Alan Shearer’s Premier League goalscoring record, reckons Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate.
The 46-year-old will link up with the Tottenham striker for the first time since working with him at Under-21 level when they face Scotland on Saturday.
But Southgate has already seen enough to be convinced Kane can emulate Shearer by becoming a talisman for both club and country.
And he has even suggested Spurs’ double Golden Boot winner will one day threaten Shearer’s outstanding record of 260 Premier League goals for Blackburn and Newcastle.
Southgate, once an England team- mate of Shearer’s, said: “Harry is in a position to threaten Alan’s record, isn’t he?
“Harry has shown he is not a oneseason wonder. He has proved it – he has put numbers on the table. It’s great for us.
“And I don’t see his hunger diminishing at all. If anything, he’s talking more bullishly about wa nt i n g to improve and be even better.”
Kane has scored 78 goals in just 116 games while Shearer’s haul came in 441 appearances.
And national boss Southgate bel ieves both men are kindred spirits when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net.
He said: “Goalscorers are usually about scoring goals for themselves.
“I see a resemblance between Harry and Alan in that if you have won the game and they haven’t scored they both get the hump.
“I also think Harry gets the bigger picture of what is important for the team – as Alan did.”
Southgate took charge of England’s Under-21s a week after Kane made his debut in a 6- 0 rout of Scotland’s kids in August 2013.
The Spurs hitman failed to find the net that day but Southgate said: “I could immediately see what an outstanding finisher he was.
“He hadn’t quite broken through into Tottenham’s team but you could see he had huge self-belief.
“What has always impressed me is Harry has the mentality to be the best player he can possibly be.
“We can’t have too many of those players – they are infectious.
“He is a very hungry player and when he gets an opportunity to take a shot on goal then nothing gets in his way.” Shearer wowed Gareth