Ranking the striker options that make Bellingham most likely to replace Kane

Harry Kane will be almost 35 by the time Euro 2028 rolls along so how are England stocked for replacements or successors? Not well. Not well at all…

With the Three Lions home from the 2026 World Cup with their bronze medalsattention inevitably turns to the future and the 2028 European Championships being hosted on these shores.

Can England end 62 years of hurt? To have a hope, they will need a goalscorer.

Harry Kane will be 35 less than three weeks after the tournament. It is not completely mental to think that England’s greatest goalscorer will still be going strong. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that, at the very least, Thomas Tuchel – assuming he’s still in the job – will need a striker capable of standing in for Kane.

Options are perilously thin on the ground. At this stage, it looks most likely that it’ll be Jude Bellingham.

But England need to give Bellingham a platform to perform in his best position, which isn’t as a centre-forward. Bellingham needs a striker to play off.

Who might that be? Here’s how we’ve ranked England’s striking options who will be younger than 2026 Kane in 2028.

And here’s a full XI who could win Euro 2028.

8) Divine Mubama

Kane came through the ranks to succeed Wayne Rooney, so who in Lee Carsley’s squad could we could burden with such expectation?

Manchester City striker Mubama, 21, represented England through every age group from Under-15s and has five goals in seven caps for the Under-21s.

The 21-year-old came through the ranks at West Ham, making his senior debut there before becoming frustrated with a lack of senior opportunities. So obviously he joined City in 2024 because they don’t have any decent centre-forwards.

Mubama spent last season on loan at Stoke, scoring five goals, but he hardly set the Championship alight. Most likely, he’ll be playing in the second tier again next season, perhaps for Derby.

7) Ivan Toney

Toney just qualifies here since in 2028 he will be marginally younger than Kane was at this World Cup. For which the ex-Brentford striker was chosen as one of the Three Lions’ alternatives for Kane.

Or was he? Tuchel’s reluctance to play Toney for anything but the final seconds of a the semi-final defeat when he joined Dan Burn up front or the nonsense bronze final suggests there may be some credence to the theory that the 30-year-old travelled as a penalties specialist.

Toney was a surprise call-up owing to being out of sight and out of the minds of many England fans at Al-Ahli. Without getting out of Saudi any time soon, it’s hard to imagine him playing a notable role in England’s future.

6) Eddie Nketiah

The Crystal Palace striker is the all-time record scorer for England Under-21s with 16 goals. Surely that counts for something?

Sadly, the five Premier League goals Nketiah has scored since leaving Arsenal for Palace two years ago is a better indicator of his prospects.

Without a dramatic and unexpected improvement in his output at Palace, which we think is fair to assume is unlikely at this point in his career, then Nketiah will go down as another who couldn’t navigate the chasm between youth and senior international football.

5) Ollie Watkins

Like Toney, by the time the Euros roll around, Watkins will be almost the same age as Kane was at this World Cup.

He peaked just in time to be recalled for six minutes at this tournament, having been trusted more by Gareth Southgate to stand in for Kane at Euro 2024, but can he go again in time for 2028?

Probably not. At 32, will he retain the pace his game relies upon? Will he be playing at the top level? There is talk he could be in Turkey by the end of the summer, which doesn’t bode well for Watkins’ future international prospects. Unlike Toney, he can’t play the penalties card.

4) Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Calvert-Lewin was given a brief audition for the World Cup but failed to convince Tuchel he was a better option than Watkins or Toney. He’s barely a year younger than both, so he hardly has that going for him?

But at F365, we’re nothing if not happy-go-lucky beacons of optimism and hope. Since Calvert-Lewin missed at least a season and a half throughout his career, maybe his legs are fresher than your average 29-year-old? And maybe his peak is still ahead of him having now put down roots at Leeds United, coming off the back of his second-best ever season for goals and appearances?

No, you’re burying your head in the sand.

MORE: ‘Absolute menace’ Jude Bellingham must replace Harry Kane for England

3) Dominic Solanke

Like Nketiah, Solanke’s international legacy seem destined to be at youth level, though his prospects of belatedly making a mark at senior level are rather better than the Palace striker’s.

Roberto De Zerbi has spoken of his fondness for Solanke, describing him as “one of the best strikers in the Premier League” back in April. So the 28-year-old may get a chance to further his England cause in a Spurs side that should be made for its centre-forward.

Solanke’s first test: staying fit for long enough to string some form together.

2) Anthony Gordon

If Tuchel is open to get around the lack of centre-forwards by just going without, then Gordon could offer another false nine option to leave Bellingham to do his thing from deep.

Gordon has had some success in that position with the Under-21s, winning the U21 Euros in 2023 while being named Player of the Tournament.

The Barca new boy impressed in 16 appearances, scoring nine goals and creating another through the middle for Newcastle last season. We wait to see what Hansi Flick has in mind for Gordon, but some similar form for Barca next season could open Tuchel’s mind to giving it a try.

1) Liam Delap

Delap was seen as the best prospect to succeed Kane when he joined Chelsea a year ago. But just a single Premier League goal since moving to Stamford Bridge has significantly dampened those expectations.

At 23, though, hope remains that he night find the form that made him one of three English strikers to bag double figures in the Premier League in 2024/25. And that was in a relegated Ipswich team.

To do that, he needs to get out of Chelsea. Delap will always be second fiddle to Joao Pedro so it is imperative that he finds a more prominent role this summer. Newcastle or Everton perhaps.