England boss Gareth Southgate says Tottenham striker Harry Kane could be the new Alan Shearer

GARETH SOUTHGATE has vowed to help Harry Kane become the new Alan Shearer.

Southgate is able to select the Premier League’s Golden Boot winner, for the first time since he took charge, when he names the England team for the World Cup qualifier at Hampden Park on Saturday.

The Tottenham striker has been injured on each occasion Southgate has picked a squad since he replaced Sam Allardyce last autumn.

England’s route to the finals in Russia has been straightforward enough, even without Kane’s input. But his manager will hope that the 23-year-old can help ensure that qualification is all-but secured before the summer break.

Kane was club football’s top scorer for the second season running with 29 League goals in just 30 matches, including a blistering seven in the final two games.

He’s now scored 20-plus League goals in three consecutive seasons. That consistency means he’s already being tipped to eclipse Shearer’s all-time record of 260 goals in the competition.

But the former Blackburn and Newcastle marksman also did the business for England, scoring 30 goals in 63 appearances, and Kane has yet to reproduce club form in an international shirt.

It’s something Southgate is aware of and he’s eager to help facilitate Kane’s progress for the Three Lions.

“For all top players, there will always be the next challenge,” he points out.

“With Cristiano Ronaldo you could see what it meant to him to be a European Champion with Portugal when he was running the team from the touchline in the Euro 2016 Final.

“Over the last 30 years, no player has had a bigger impact on the game than Lionel Messi. Yet people still say the missing piece is success with Argentina.

“So for every player there is always: ‘What’s the next challenge? What do I have to prove next?’.

“It’s important that our players recognise that there’s always another level to push towards.

“The great thing about Harry is that he wants to know more about everything – his nutrition, his athletic training or whatever it is.

“He has shown he was not a one-season wonder. He has put the numbers on the table.

“He is so focused all the time on how he can get better.”

Southgate, who played alongside Shearer for most of his own international career, is comfortable with comparisons between the two. Indeed, he sees the parallels himself.

“Both are very single-minded, with the hunger to be top of those scoring charts a huge driving factor for them,” he says.

“One of the resemblances I see is that if you have won the game and they haven’t scored, both have had the hump!

“Alan always got the bigger picture of what is important for the team and Harry sees that as well.

“So they’ll enjoy the individual recognition. But for the real satisfaction, they want to win things with the team as well.

“Shearer had aggression and Harry does, too. It’s partly down to him maturing physically and partly to him being psychologically more confident.

“With that you take on a bigger presence when you’re on the pitch.

“I think there is something about hunger within that presence as well. Harry is a hungry player.

“He’s always going to make sure nothing gets in his way of doing what he wants on the field.”

Kane finished the season on a career total of 78 Premier League goals in just over three years. If he keeps scoring at the same rate he would overhaul Shearer’s record mark by the time he’s 31.

“Harry is in position to do it, isn’t he?” says Southgate.

“But you have to admire Shearer because it’s longevity and performance at such a high level which really elevates the top, top players.

“You have to keep proving yourself, season after season. That’s the great challenge for any young player. Harry is still in that category.

“He was in the first squad I picked when I managed the Under-21s, and I’ve not seen any diminishing in that hunger from him.

“If anything, he’s talking more bullishly than ever about wanting to become even better.

“When I first worked with him, he wasn’t quite in Tottenham’s team, yet you could see he had huge self-belief.

“What has always impressed me is that he has the mentality to be the best player he can possibly be.”