England Strikers - Russia 2018

With the international break over Harry Kane is still on course to lead England's line at next years World Cup even though he didn't play in the recent fixtures due to injury. We take a look at the other strikers in contention to be on the plane in the next tournament. Assuming we get there. Wayne Rooney, our captain, has been under pressure to be in the squad after limited game time for Manchester United and team-mate Marcus Rashford is still eligible for the under 21s.

Defoe has forced himself into contention and Vardy is finding his form again. However, names such as Daniel Sturridge and Daniel Welbeck won't be forgotten easily.  Lets have a look at some of the strikers in contention for a starting place in the squad.

Name: Harry Kane
Age: 23
Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Goals: 24
Assists: 4
England Apps: 17
England Goals: 5
Form: 6 goals in his last three club appearances
Odds: 1/10



Without a doubt the best English striker we currently have. Despite having a poor Euro 2016 at the age of 23 Harry Kane is still growing as a player. Tottenham's vice captain is a leader on the pitch and if he can continue his spectacular goal scoring form next season he will be leading England's line at the World Cup at the age of 24. If he can mirror his club form on the national stage he will soon be regarded as a world-class striker.

Name: Wayne Rooney
Age: 31
Club: Manchester United
Goals: 5
Assists: 9
England Apps: 119
England Goals: 53
Form: 0 goals in his last three club appearances
Odds: 1/1



The England and Manchester United captain is enduring a difficult first season under Jose Mourinho. He has fallen behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcus Rashford in the pecking order and Gareth Southgate wants Rooney to play more if he is to feature in next year's world cup. However as England's record scorer he may feel that he deserves more respect, his experience could be invaluable in next years tournament but he may have to leave Manchester United to get regular game time.

Name: Jamie Vardy
Age: 30
Club: Leicester City
Goals: 10
Assists: 4
England Apps: 16
England Goals: 6
Form: 1 goal in his last three club appearances
Odds: 1/3



After lighting up the Premier League last season, Vardy has not had as good a campaign as he would have expected. However he is still the fourth highest English top scorer and if he can fire Leicester into the semi finals of the Champions League it will show that Vardy can still make an impact against World Class defenders. His pace is frightening and on his day he is unplayable.

Name: Marcus Rashford
Age: 19
Club: Manchester United
Goals: 7
Assists: 2
England Apps: 8
England Goals: 1
Form: 0 goals in his last three club appearances
Odds: 1/5



After an incredible breakthrough season which saw Rashford score on his Europa, Premier League, England and England under 21 debut many tipped Rashford to have an incredible second season. However with Zlatan Ibrahimovic now Manchester United's main striker, Rashford's playing time has been limited. However with Ibrahimovic as his mentor he will only be a better player. Still eligible for the Under 21s it may be too soon for the youngster to have a real impact on the senior team in Russia.

Name: Jermaine Defoe
Age: 34
Club: Sunderland
Goals: 14
Assists: 2
England Apps: 56
England Goals: 20
Form: 0 goals in his last three club appearances
Odds: 5/2



An incredible story that Defoe has finally managed to force his way into contention for the England team. Always reliable and our most clinical finisher it will be hard to leave him out of the squad based on merit. However, the question still beacons that if Kane and Rooney had been fit would Defoe have gotten a call up? Nevertheless he took his chance against Lithuania and is becoming a fans' favourite.

Name: Daniel Sturridge
Age: 27
Club: Liverpool
Goals: 6
Assists: 1
England Apps: 25
England Goals: 8
Form: 0 goals in his last three club appearances
Odds: 2/1



Often regarded as England's best striker when fit. However, he has not been very fit for the last few seasons. Similarly to Wayne Rooney he has seen his club appearances limited. Falling behind the pecking order to Roberto Firmino and Divock Origi. Sturridge may have to find a move and play week in week out to force himself back into contention for Gareth Southgate's side.

Name: Danny Welbeck
Age: 26
Club: Arsenal
Goals: 3
Assists: 1
England Apps: 34
England Goals: 14
Form: 1 goal in his last three club appearances
Odds: 5/4



Two serious knee injuries have hindered Danny Welbeck. However he is slowly starting to regain his match fitness and sharpness and next season will be crucial for Welbeck to show Southgate he still has what it takes to play for England. History doesn't lie and Welbeck is very reliable for England, he also seems to score very important goals and has been labelled a big game player.

Glen Kamara

Thank you for answering my Twitter poll on who would not be relegated in this seasons Premier League top scorer, 56% of you believe that Swansea will retain their Premier League status. 22% believe Hull will whilst Middlesbrough and Sunderland both had 11% of people tipping them to survive.


After a long morning session of Arsenal U23 training. Third year scholar Glen Kamara decided to come home and relax to watch movies on his laptop. Glen had initially made his way to the Southend Youth Team yet up aged 15 after a successful open trial. After a successful year at Southend, Arsenal soon came knocking on the door for the youngsters signature.

Kamara, 21, made his Arsenal debut in October 2015, a day before his 20th birthday in a 3-0 loss against Sheffield Wednesday. A career highlight no doubt has only given the Finnish U21 international a taste of what it is like to play at the highest level. "I’ve had a taste of it, I’ve played for Arsenal and have had a taste of league one and league two."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4cE-qEBZ-Q Glen verses Sheffield Wednesday.



Kamara was expecting progression this season after making his first senior appearance and having his first loan spell in league one. He dropped down to league two to play for Colchester but said "I didn’t play as much as I had wanted to but it was alright to get the experience I guess."

After asking how far down the leagues he would drop to gain regular first team action, Kamara assertively replied saying "I think league two was my borderline, the football that they played didn’t really suit me as much, obviously coming from Arsenal and playing on the ground and stuff. Not playing in the air, which I wasn’t used to so it was a bit different."



"Personally, I prefer league one. I don’t feel like I have progressed as much as I would have wanted to last season. But I have gained some knowledge and experience as well. So that’s been good."

Previous interviews with 442 have stated that Kamara had questioned his future at Arsenal before and had thought his time was coming to an end at his boyhood club. After asking if he saw his future away at Arsenal, Kamara replied "Umm… That’s a very good question but I am not too sure at this time of moment. It’s a tough one because I have been there since I was 16."

With questions being raised over Wenger's future, the man who gave Kamara his debut in 2015. Kamara is pessimistic about his chances of breaking into the first team with a new manager taking charge. "I think him leaving probably wouldn’t help, it probably wouldn’t benefit the youngsters as it does now. But I don’t know who coming and whose is going and if they would look after the younger kids as much as Wenger would. It’s 50/50 I guess."



Kamara doesn't keep in contact as much with Wenger as you would think. But his youth team coach interacts with the U23 a lot and he is learning day by day.

With close friend Alex Iwobi breaking into the first team of Arsenal on a permanent basis this season Kamara is keen to follow in his footsteps. "I speak to him a bit and he tells me how it's going and I obviously watch him on TV when I can."

Overall Kamara is still only at the age of 21 and has achieved a lot more than many have at his age, his target however for next season is to start playing first team football more regularly.