Interim manager Gareth Southgate has some very tough decisions to make between now and Sunday, when he’s expected to announce his England squad for coming World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia.
Indeed, the former Middlesbrough boss was thrust into the role a matter of days ago as The Telegraph’s allegations regarding Sam Allardyce forced the FA and ‘Big Sam’ to reconsider his position.
And to make matters worse for Southgate, he’ll be without one of England’s key players in the form of Harry Kane, who’ll miss the coming batch of international fixtures due to injury.
With that in mind, we asked England fans a simple question earlier this week – who should take the Tottenham Hotspur’s striker’s place in the next Three Lions squad.
The results of our poll are now in, so FootballFanCast can exclusively reveal the top three choices…
THIRD – JERMAIN DEFOE
Selecting Jermain Defoe admittedly made more sense when Sam Allardyce was in the job. The veteran striker kept Sunderland afloat with 15 goals under ‘Big Sam’ last season, ensuring their Premier League survival. Nonetheless, his international strike-rate is impressive for a bit-part front-man – 19 in 55 outings for England – and the 33-year-old’s experience could prove vital amid turbulent times in the Three Lions camp.
SECOND – CHARLIE AUSTIN
Slightly more of a hipster’s choice, Southampton’s Charlie Austin falls under the umbrella of being eternally underrated. The 27-year-old proved his poacher’s instincts can suffice at Premier League level with QPR during the 2014/15 campaign, bagging 18 strikes in 35 appearances, and he’s been amongst the goals again this season – netting five times across all competitions. However, an otherwise limited all-round game remains the glass ceiling that could keep Austin out of the national team.
FIRST – MARCUS RASHFORD
Few will be surprised to see the Manchester United youngster topping our poll. After being left out of Sam Allardyce’s first and only England squad, Marcus Rashford responded by netting a hat-trick against Norway for the U21s. Southgate must have got a pretty good view from the touchline. Likewise, he might actually be England’s most in-form striker going into the international break after scoring four times in his last seven appearances for the Red Devils, and is one of the few Three Lions regulars not hugely affected by their horrendous exit from EURO 2016.
THE RESULTS
Want to check out the rest of our poll? Here are the final results…
