Harry Kane Worth England Place – Hodgson

England manager Roy Hodgson has all but confirmed Tottenham striker Harry Kane will be in his squad for next month’s double-header with Lithuania and Italy.
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Hodgson described the 21-year-old, who has scored 23 goals in 35 games this season, as combining “everything you’re looking for in a centre forward”.
“Is he worth a place in the squad now? Of course he is,” said Hodgson.
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Captain Wayne Rooney is likely to continue in attack, despite adopting a new midfield role at Manchester United.
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Kane, who only made his first Premier League start for Spurs in April, is currently the joint-leading English goalscorer in the top flight, level with QPR’s Charlie Austin on 13.
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“We bought a lot of young players in during my time, we had Saido Berahino in the last squad. [Kane] certainly deserves a place in the squad as much as say Saido did,” added Hodgson.
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“Is he worthy of a place like Wayne Rooney, [Danny] Welbeck and [Daniel] Sturridge? That’s something he’ll have to prove.
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“But unless I give him a chance in the squad he’ll never get a chance to prove that anyway.
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“If you can be a star at a top team like Tottenham at the age of 21 then you’re doing pretty well.”
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Rooney’s recent goalscoring form has been in stark contrast to Kane’s, with the 29-year-old yet to manage a shot on target in 2015.
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The national skipper has scored six goals in his last six games for England, but, often playing in a central midfield role, has only managed eight goals for Manchester United this season with his last goal coming on 26 December.
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However, Hodgson said he was not concerned about his form and did not plan to play Rooney as a midfielder.
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“I don’t necessarily think that will be his best position for us and I don’t have any immediate plans to play him there,” said Hodgson. “But who knows? I will never say never.
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“He’s a goalscorer and you always like to see goalscorers in positions where they can get into the box. If you’ve got several other goalscorers and can afford to use one of them a bit further back, that’s fine.
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“But he’s our top goalscorer in the qualifiers, he’s just a couple of goals away from being England’s leading goalscorer, so I hope he will continue to score goals for us.”