Harry Kane England successor: Five players under 21 who can be heir to record Three Lions goalscorer's throne

Harry Kane will be attempting to edge closer to the 100-goal mark for England when the Three Lions face Croatia in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday evening.

Despite the presence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the squad, the expectation is that the Bayern Munich star and Ballon d'Or candidate will remain down the centre of the attack as Thomas Tuchel continues to rely heavily on his goalscoring exploits.

However, with Kane now 33 years of age, there will eventually come a time when England must identify potential successors to the nation's greatest-ever goalscorer.

Although there are candidates in their late twenties and early thirties, England can ill-afford to go through the next three to five years without having a serious plan when it comes to ensuring that they are not lacking options for the number nine role.

Here, Sports Mole identifies five players, who are 21 years of age and below, who are showing signs that they could eventually become a suitable option for England's senior squad.

Will Lankshear

When Tottenham Hotspur sold Will Lankshear to Middlesbrough in the summer, they inserted a clause that allowed them to match any fee that is accepted for the 21-year-old by the North-East outfit in the future.

That suggests that Spurs believe the academy graduate could have the qualities to add to his one goal - against Galatasaray - from six senior outings earlier in his career.

Since the move to the Riverside Stadium, Lankshear has netted eight goals in 11 games and scored on his debut for England Under-21s during the ongoing international break.

As someone who is learning his craft in the Championship, there will need to be a level of patience over his development, but already having six goals from 678 minutes in the second tier of English football in 2026-27 suggests that Lankshear is well on his way to becoming a future Premier League and international player.

Brian Madjo

The Football Association would have been delighted when Brian Madjo switched his international allegiances from Luxembourg - where he was raised - to England.

Although he is just 17 years of age, Enfield-born Madjo showed his undoubted quality, from both technical and physical aspects, when he scored on his competitive Aston Villa debut against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup final in August.

Injury has prevented the teenager from building on that performance, but there is the anticipation that the nine-cap England Under-17 international will quickly progress up the age categories if he earns regular game time with Villa.

Shim Mheuka

As someone who has scored 26 goals from 39 appearances at Premier League 2 and UEFA Youth League level, Chelsea fans are excited about the potential of Shim Mheuka.

Despite a combined 14 outings for Chelsea and current loan club Celtic, the 18-year-old will be disappointed only to rack up 190 minutes across those games.

Nevertheless, Chelsea expect Mheuka to earn more minutes at Celtic as the season progresses, and his time in Glasgow has the potential to catapult his career.

Furthermore, Mheuka's record at England youth record cannot be ignored. He has scored an incredible 16 goals in 23 games for the Under-19s, while he scored a superbly-taken goal for the Under-20s against France during the ongoing international break.

Chizaram Ezenwata

Chizaram Ezenwata has essentially taken over from Mheuka for Chelsea Under-21s and England Under-19s.

He already has two goals and two assists from four Premier League 2 fixtures in 2026-27, one goal in two EFL Trophy outings and three goals from five outings for England Under-19s.

Ezenwata has only just turned 18, so patience can be afforded in the short term, but leaving the Blues Under-18s ranks with 31 goals and 13 assists from 48 games emphasises that Ezenwata could soon be held in the same regard as Mheuka.

The FA face the potential obstacle of Cameroon and Nigeria trying to tempt him to represent their nations, a consequence of his mother being from Cameroon and his father being from Nigeria.

Alejandro Gomes Rodriguez

Similar issues could arise with Alejandro Gomes Rodriguez, who was born in Venezuela and is of Portuguese descent.

However, the fact that the Lyon attacker - formerly of Southampton - made his debut for England Under-19s last month and has a combined 23 caps for the Under-17s and Under-18s suggests that he has made his decision.

His development at Lyon has gone under the radar but the 18-year-old scored against Go Ahead Eagles in last season's Europa League on one of his five appearances for the French giants.

A further two goals came from 13 outings on loan at Ligue 2 side Annecy, and he is now attempting to break back into the Lyon senior squad.

Gomes Rodriguez, who does not turn 19 until March, should definitely be viewed in the 'one to watch' category.