Gareth Southgate is planning to experiment with his England line-up in upcoming friendly matches against Brazil and Belgium.
Southgate Expected to Tinker With England Line-Up
All-time top scorer Harry Kane has undergone scans on an ankle injury suffered for Bayern Munich against Darmstadt at the weekend, which saw him clatter into a goalpost.
Even if Kane is declared fit for the upcoming Wembley double-header this month, England boss Gareth Southgate is planning to experiment with alternative options in Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney. With one final international break before the summer, Southgate may look chop and change in order to find the best England formation.
Watkins would be favourite to slot into the England line-up if Kane is not handed the green light. His style of play means England would likely need to prepare slightly differently in order to fulfil his potential, with his multi-faceted role at Aston Villa seeing him create and score in equal measure this campaign.
Watkins’ purple patch shows little signs of slowing down having netted 22 goals so far, but he does not lead a line in the same way that Kane usually does.
Brentford front man Ivan Toney is more comparable to Kane, and can also expect game time in the next international fixtures.
Toney has four goals from 10 starts since returning from a betting ban in January, and Southgate will ideally test him out in the central role to see how he can cope as a more like-for-like replacement for Kane.
Stepping into such boots is no mean feat. England captain Kane is the all-time leading scorer with 62 goals and has found the net this season 37 times for Bayern Munich.
At the weekend there was early optimism he could be fit in time to face Brazil at Wembley but the results of scans on Monday will determine whether he is ready.
It is unlikely any risks will be taken and Bayern have full trust in English medical staff to deal with the issue appropriately.
They face a crunch clash in Der Klassiker with Borussia Dortmund following the international break, and defeat in that match would eradicate any dwindling hopes of winning the Bundesliga this season.
Kane has been an ever-present for Bayern since signing from Tottenham Hotspur but was substituted eight minutes from time in the 5-2 weekend win, in which he managed one goal and an assist.
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