By Martin Graham
Thomas Tuchel’s most recent England selection has underlined a growing issue — the lack of English center forwards. Harry Kane remains the lone specialist striker in the 25-man squad, a worrying sign ahead of next summer’s World Cup.
The situation is partly influenced by fitness setbacks. Ollie Watkins has been given time to recover from a recurring problem, Dominic Solanke has been unavailable since August, and Liam Delap has only just returned from injury for Chelsea.
Tuchel still has options who can adapt to the role. Marcus Rashford, Jarrod Bowen, Phil Foden, and Anthony Gordon are capable of leading the line, but none are natural number nines. The continued reliance on 32-year-old Kane as England’s focal point is a clear reminder of how limited the alternatives are.
Kane continues to deliver for Bayern Munich in Germany, yet the Premier League currently features only eight English strikers — with Delap, at 22, the only one younger than 26. Below him, there are few names pushing for selection, with England’s Under-21 squad containing just one recognized striker: Divin Mubama, who has yet to score in the top flight.
Systems, selections and shrinking numbers
The shortage of English goalscorers has been building over several years. Even those who remain active, like Danny Welbeck and Callum Wilson, are well into their thirties, and only the pair have managed more than one league goal this season.
Ivan Toney, now playing for Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia, has been the most effective English striker abroad with 11 goals from 15 appearances. Despite being called up earlier in the year, he has barely featured under Tuchel since.
Statistics show the trend has deep roots. Last season, just three English forwards — Watkins, Delap, and Welbeck — reached double figures in the Premier League. In contrast, during the league’s debut campaign in 1992–93, twenty English strikers hit that milestone.
The numbers continue to shrink. In 2020–21, English forwards scored 142 league goals between them; last season the total fell to 67. Even if Kane’s move to Bayern removed one reliable source of goals, his absence alone cannot explain the scale of the decline. This season’s projection of just 38 goals from English strikers represents a historic low.
Sutton and Shearer on shifting priorities
Former Blackburn and Norwich striker Chris Sutton, who regularly reached double figures himself, believes fewer appearances and modern tactics share the blame.
He points to the past when English forwards such as Alan Shearer, Ian Wright, Robbie Fowler, Andy Cole, Les Ferdinand, Teddy Sheringham, and others were not only abundant but also ever-present in club line-ups. Today, competition from foreign signings and tactical preferences has squeezed them out.
Sutton notes that while teams once often used two strikers, many now deploy a single forward supported by wide attackers or false nines. Ironically, clubs like Manchester City and Arsenal have revived the classic striker role — but those filling it tend to be from overseas.
Alan Shearer, his former strike partner at Blackburn, blames a change in youth coaching. He believes young players are trained to prioritize passing and build-up play over leading the attack. As a result, fewer aspire to be center forwards at all.
Changing habits, lost roles
Sutton agrees that the modern obsession with creativity and technical flair has replaced the old poacher’s instincts. Wingers like Rashford and Bukayo Saka score more goals than their predecessors, but they do so from wider positions. The art of leading the line has become increasingly rare.
Michael Owen, another Golden Boot winner from the late 1990s, says he would likely be used as a wide forward if he came through today. He doubts he would be trusted to play as a lone striker given the physical demands of modern systems.
For Owen, the loss of traditional striker partnerships is particularly sad. He wonders if the days of playing with two forwards — once central to English football — will ever truly return.
What happens after Kane?
Sutton admits that comparing the current striker pool to that of the 1990s highlights how far things have changed. Then, quality and quantity went hand in hand. Les Ferdinand and Robbie Fowler were world-class finishers but still struggled to get regular England opportunities behind Shearer.
Now, with the depth of talent gone, even an average English striker could find themselves in contention for a World Cup spot. Sutton jokes that, given the shortage, he might consider lacing up his boots again.
England still has one of the world’s best forwards in Kane, but beyond him, the production line appears almost empty — leaving a critical question ahead of 2026: who comes next?
