No concerns for England as Harry Kane speculation builds

Gareth Southgate does not believe swirling speculation about Harry Kane’s future will impact the England captain and the rest of the squad at this summer’s European Championship.

After seeing pleas to come on against San Marino ignored last week, the 27-year-old marked his return to Three Lions action in Albania by kicking off Sunday’s 2-0 win and taking his international tally to 33 goals in 52 games.

That World Cup qualifier came amid fresh talk about Kane’s Tottenham future, with the England skipper saying he was fully focused “from now until the end of the summer and then we’ll see where we go from there”.

Speculation about the striker’s Spurs future looks set to rumble on throughout the summer, but Southgate does not think it will have a negative impact as the national team looks to win the European Championship.

Southgate said: “No, he’s so focused.

“I had a chat with him, as I do with all of the players when they come into the camp, and he’s very positive about the club.

“He was talking about only being a couple of points off the Champions League, in a League Cup final and you can see his focus in the game the other day.

“He scored a fantastic goal and an excellent assist as well, so I’ve got no worries about Harry Kane. He’s a fantastic professional.

“His focus is always on the next training session, the next match and he’s somebody that can absolutely put anything to one side.”

Having gone close to glory with club and country, Kane has the chance to lift his first major trophy when Spurs take on Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final next month.

This summer also provides the opportunity for the 2018 World Cup Golden Boot winner to lead England to glory on home soil when the rearranged European Championships get under way.

“I think Harry is, of course, a highly motivated player and all players want to win,” Southgate said of his skipper on the eve of the World Cup qualifier against Poland.

“They want to win things and he’s got an opportunity with his club in the next few weeks to do that. I have got four players in the other dressing room (with Manchester City) as well so I can’t state any sort of preference for that.

“But you want to be in the latter stages of competitions. He’s played in a Champions League final with Tottenham, he’s now got a second League Cup final coming up and for certain those are the occasions as players you want to be involved in.

“You want to be involved in the major tournaments and you want to be in the important matches, domestic cups and the league, of course.”