Striker blows his England starting contenders out of the water…
It’s no shock to anyone that Harry Kane is being touted with an England call-up – his two goals in the North London derby typified what a remarkable season it has been for the Tottenham Hotspur striker.
SEE MORE:
(Image) Tottenham’s Harry Kane Named January’s Premier League Player Of The Month
Tottenham Stars Prepare For Capital One Cup Final Against Chelsea With Photoshoot In Limited Edition Shirts
Manchester City & Tottenham Told To Pay £40m For Yacine Brahimi
Roy Hodgson has confirmed he will certainly be in line for the national side come the next round of international friendlies, but just who will he be competing against for a starting birth.
Based on current form it would seem to be one of the easiest decisions Hodgson has ever had to make, but what do the stats show?
Here are the top five potential striker options the England boss could select:
5) Danny Ings – 223 minutes per goal
The Burnley stalwart is a similar age to Kane, but whilst he’s certainly impressed he has failed to make the same impact in his first season in the Premier League with the Clarets.
Despite that he’s scored a not too shabby eight Premier League goals so far and provided four assists; which goes some way to explaining why he’s been linked with the likes of Liverpool.
4) Saido Berahino – 202 minutes per goal
Another man said to be on the move to Anfield – it’s like Brendan Rodgers doesn’t trust his strikers…
Berahino too is a new name linked to England involvement in the next round of fixtures and his nine Premier League goals and four goal haul in one match in the FA Cup goes someway to showing why he’s acquired such interest.
3) Daniel Sturridge – 200 minutes per goal
You struggle not to question just how different Liverpool’s season could have been if Sturridge wasn’t a long term absentee through several injuries.
He’s certainly looking to make up for lost time, though, scoring on his return to the Reds first team against West Ham and winning a penalty against Spurs this week.
You’d expect Sturridge would be the favourite to start for the Three Lions, but given the 25-year-old’s injury hell started on his lest spell away with Hodgson, perhaps he might try to make himself otherwise engaged this time around.
2) Charlie Austin – 147 minutes per goal
The prolific forward’s 13 goals so far in the Premier League are certainly impressive for a player who was plying his trade in non-league football just five years ago.
Austin might not be the most glamorous name on the list but the stats don’t lie.
1) Harry Kane – 110 minutes per goal
And perhaps this proves not only why Kane should be selected, but why he should have the side built around him.
The 21-year-old has represented England at all levels up to the Under-21s where he’s scored six goals in their qualification campaign for this year’s European Championships.
He deserves his full international cap and on current standings, he’s surely the best man out there and should be the first name on the squad list for Hodgson in March.
(All stats taken from BBC)