Rooney: Ex-Spurs star I’m ‘a massive fan’ of is ‘right up there’ with Ronaldo, Shearer as ‘greatest striker’
Wayne Rooney has hailed Harry Kane as “England’s greatest striker,” backing the Bayern Munich man as the Premier League’s finest ever number nine and insisting he should still go on to break Alan Shearer’s long-standing goalscoring record if he returns to English football.
The Man Utd legend was speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate with Jamie Carragher, and admitted he was “a massive fan” of Kane, not just for his scoring, but his overall evolution as a modern forward.
“He’s definitely up there,” Rooney said.
“I love Harry. I think, as a goalscorer, he’s evolved his game over the last few years as well, which we’ve all seen, in dropping deep, he’s got a good range of passes, he can shoot from outside the box as well.”
Harry Kane is England’s all-time leading scorer with 63 goals, and his 213 Premier League strikes leave him just 47 short of Shearer’s all-time record. It’s a mark Rooney believes he still could hit, if circumstances align.
“If Harry had stayed in the Premier League, he’d break Shearer’s record for sure. Also, if he played for United, he would be considered. He still can. He still should.”
“I think he’s England’s greatest striker. Just the goals he’s scored, firstly. But then you look at the games he’s played, the goals he’s scored, he’s just… You just hope. He’s probably got one tournament left in him. You hope he can push us now to that next level.”
Kane’s role for England and his tendency to drop deep drew analysis, too, with Rooney acknowledging that tactical tweaks may have blunted the Three Lions’ attack in past tournaments.
“In the last Euros, you had Harry coming in, you had Bellingham coming in, and they were taking up each other’s space. As a team, Harry should’ve recognised that and said, ‘No, I’m going to play up top.’ At times, you have to do that.”
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Rooney, who scored 208 Premier League goals himself and remains Utd’s all-time top scorer, didn’t just talk about Kane. He lamented the decline of the traditional centre-forward role and said the game has changed to leave modern No. 9s “bored” and uninvolved.
“The game’s changed massively,” he said. “Strikers don’t touch the ball anymore. Goalkeepers and centre-backs have more touches. It’s all build-up now, everything’s precise. You don’t cross the ball anymore, you don’t put it in behind and compete.”
Even Rooney’s son, currently in Man Utd’s academy, has felt it. “He plays as a No. 9 and said to me, ‘It’s boring.’ I keep saying, ‘No, you’re playing as a nine.’ But they’re just not involved in the game as much now.”
That tactical shift is, for Rooney, a reason why only a few true centre-forwards are emerging at the top level.
“You’ve lost natural number nines. I think Isak, Haaland, and Watkins, probably the three standout ones. Rashford’s doing better now, too. But beyond that? Not many.”
Asked who he’d pick as a manager if he needed one striker right now, Rooney was clear. “Haaland. As good as Isak’s been, I think Haaland’s got everything. He’s not the best at heading, his timing’s a bit off, but the goals he’s scored even this season, with injuries, I’d want him.”
And what of the greats of Rooney’s era?
“I always say Drogba. He could head the ball, hold it up, and he was quick, powerful. You could play off him. That’s the kind of striker I liked.”
He added, “Michael Owen (Liverpool) was unplayable for a few years. Ronaldo, R9, had everything. Alan Shearer, Andy Cole, Owen, Sergio Aguero, Thierry Henry… they were incredible. But Kane, for sustainability and goals scored? He’s right up there.”
