England exclusive: Mills casts doubt over Kane future with new manager urged to seek ‘alternatives’

Danny Mills believes it is time for England to experiment up front following Harry Kane’s performances at this summer’s European Championship.

Kane scored three goals at Euro 2024 but was well below his best, especially in the final against Spain when he failed to register a shot on target.

Gareth Southgate substituted his captain in the 61st minute of Sunday’s final, which is something that was previously unthinkable.

In previous rounds, Kane was brought off despite the possibility of penalties, while he came off for eventual match-winner Ollie Watkins with the score at 1-1 against the Netherlands in the semi-final.

His poor performances came as a shock following his 44-goal season with Bayern Munich.

An injury in the second half of 2023/24 might have slowed the 30-year-old down at the Euros and former England defender Mills thinks Southgate’s replacement must look at alternatives after Watkins and Ivan Toney impressed off the bench in Germany.

“I think you do start looking at alternatives now,” Mills exclusively told Football365 (via 888poker ).

“He’s 30 now and 31 by the time the new season starts and clearly he didn’t look sharp during the tournament. He missed a few games at the end of last season, but he did finish top scorer in Bundesliga.

“He has been England’s talisman for a while now and done extremely well, but has he got the fitness to get the No. 9 at the World Cup.

“He still scored a few goals at the Euros and has a lot of experience to offer, but what level will he be in two years time? We need to start looking at alternative options, whether it is Watkins or Toney, or both.”

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We also asked Mills about Jude Bellingham and whether or not his ego is creating problems within the England camp.

He said: “I think it’s a difficult one. He is young, he has a huge amount of confidence, he has incredible moments, his goal in the last minute, his header was excellent.

“His overall performances during the whole tournament were ok, not outstanding. He is still young, he has things to learn, but he is a top player, technically he can improve for sure, technically Foden is better, so Jude must look to improve here.

“Don’t get me wrong, we have an outstanding player on our hands for England and he just has to do that little bit more in games to impact it. Big moments he delivered, but in the final, we needed more.

“He was unlucky with his turn and shot and that could have been the moment. He can go back to Real Madrid and continue to learn and I have no doubt he will have more great seasons for them.”

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