The England captain, a day away from becoming his country’s most-capped men’s player, does not think the conversation about who wears the No. 9 shirt after him should be happening yet.

Lankshear has 15 goals in 16 appearances this season since Middlesbrough signed him from Tottenham for a reported £20m in the summer of 2026, a run that has turned the Championship forward into the most talked-about English striker outside the Premier League. In an interview with GiveMeSport, Kane said the finishing instinct had been described to him by a former youth coach, then immediately pulled back from any crowning.

“It’s not a time to put too much pressure on him. I know there’s a lot of talk about who’s going to replace me when I’m not here anymore, but just let him do what he’s doing,” Kane told the outlet.

Not in Tuchel’s November squad

Despite the hype, Thomas Tuchel did not call Lankshear into the 25-man squad announced on 6 November for the Nations League matches against Croatia and Spain. First senior call-ups went to Fulham’s Josh King and Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jobe Bellingham. The Middlesbrough forward missed out, even after scoring on his England Under-21 debut in September.

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Reporting from TeamTalk said Tuchel’s staff were still assessing him and that an England senior scout had attended Middlesbrough’s Championship match against Wrexham to watch him in person. Lee Carsley is said to have recommended the striker to Tuchel.

Lankshear’s own manager, Kim Hellberg, has refused to join the push. The Middlesbrough boss said he had “no clue” when asked whether a senior call-up was coming.

Kane’s record arrives first

Kane’s hands-off line on his successor comes as his own England chapter reaches a landmark of its own. He is level with Peter Shilton on 125 caps after the September-October window and will become England’s most-capped men’s player if he starts against Croatia at Wembley on Thursday 12 November, with kick-off at 7:45pm local time.

In comments reported by France 24, the Bayern Munich forward called the prospect “the biggest achievement” and said it was built on the work “people don’t see”. Tickets for the Wembley match remain on sale through the official England site.

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