England captain Harry Kane has described Mauricio Pochettino as a “fantastic manager” as the Argentine closes in on the Manchester United job.
Pochettino has reportedly agreed terms on taking over at Old Trafford with Michael Carrick likely to be sacked at the conclusion of talks in Monaco today between the club’s minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, CEO Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox.
Kane was a key part of the Tottenham side that finished second in the Premier League in 2017 under Pochettino and then reached the Champions League final two years later.
And the Bayern Munich striker, who will win his record-breaking 126th cap for England against Croatia at Wembley on Thursday, had nothing but positive things to say about his former boss.
“Me and Mauricio have a fantastic relationship. I mentioned him as one of the managers who had a big impact on my career,” said Kane. “I needed his guidance. He pushed me on and off the pitch which was really helpful.
“He’s a fantastic coach, he’s managed the biggest clubs in the world. From my point of view I can’t speak highly enough of him. We’ll have to wait and see what happens but I know he’s a great guy but also a fantastic manager.”
My dream is to win a major trophy with England – Kane
Kane is currently riding the crest of a wave after winning the 2026 Ballon d’Or followingb another brilliant year with Bayern and England.
However, it has not always been this way with the 33-year-old facing the possibility of going his entire career without a major trophy before landing the Bundesliga title in his second season in Germany.
He was a key member of the England team beaten in successive European Championship finals, by Italy in 2021 and Spain in 2024.
“After any big loss, especially a final loss, emotions are very high,” he added. “I don’t think I ever doubted that it would come. It was frustrating not to have reached that yet in my career. A lot of these moments you have to get over quickly.
“In the last couple of seasons my game is at the highest level so that could be a factor of that.
“To win a team trophy with England, a major trophy, is my biggest dream. It’s always been my biggest dream to win a European Championship, a World Cup or both hopefully. I know how difficult that is so extremely motivated to do that. I’m surrounded by great teams both club and country so hopefully it is an exciting time ahead.”
Kane aware of free-scoring Lankshear
Kane is coming towards the end of his career, giving England a major headache with no obvious successor standing out.
Middlesbrough’s Will Lankshear has been mentioned as one to watch following his move from Spurs to Teesside over the summer and Kane said he is aware of the 21-year-old, who has scored 13 goals in 13 Championship games this season.
He said: ”I wouldn’t say I have followed his whole career but obviously this season it has been hard not to hear about him and he has done extremely well at Middlesbrough. I spoke to a friend who coached him here at Tottenham [where today’s news conference was held] at the younger age groups who said he is a goalscorer.
“He has that goalscoring instinct. He’s still early in his development. I think what he is doing right now is perfect for him, playing loads of games, scoring goals, getting confidence. Whether he comes into the senior [England] side is down to Thomas [Tuchel]. It’s not a time to put too much pressure on him.
“There’s a lot of talk about who is going to replace me when I’m not here anymore. Just let him do what he is doing and I think it is great for his development. He’s doing really well.
“As the time goes on, I’m sure he will be on the right path to get his chance. If he does make it into the senior team it would be great to work with him and try and help him develop as a player.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: 101greatgoals.com
