Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino wants Harry Kane to be made permanent England captain
Following the retirement of veteran Wayne Rooney, a new skipper needs to be allocated for the international outfit
MAURICIO POCHETTINO wants Harry Kane to be made permanent England captain.
Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate needs a new skipper following Wayne Rooney’s retirement this week.
And striker Kane, 24, is already in the box seat, having captained his country in the last two matches away to Scotland and home to France.
Now Spurs boss Poch has thrown his star’s hat in the ring for the full-time role, saying: “Should he be captain? Yes.
“I know it is not my decision, it is Gareth’s, but Harry Kane is ready and his character is fantastic to be a captain.
“If that happened, I’d be very happy if Gareth’s decision was to give the armband to Harry.”
When talking about Kane’s leadership qualities in June, Southgate said: “His mentality is excellent. He has a very good view of the game. He’s keen to lead.”
Spurs host Burnley at Wembley tomorrow afternoon with new Colombian ace Davinson Sanchez on board after his £35million move from Ajax.
But Poch, a former Argentina hatchet man, welcomed him with a crunching challenge in his first training session.
Pochettino, who collected 13 red cards in 272 games as a defender for Spanish side Espanyol, has a reputation for giving his players, especially young ones, the strong-arm treatment in training to test them.
He has not always come off the best and admitted last season he ended up with his face in the turf after tackling Cameron Carter-Vickers — a rookie defender, 19, who was loaned to Sheffield United yesterday.
Maybe that is why Poch was determined to come out on top against centre-half Sanchez, 21, this time.
The Spurs boss revealed: “I challenged Sanchez in training on Thursday. We were playing a drill in a grid, he was inside and the ball was in the air.
“So me, I went in and bam! He fell and there was me coming out with the ball.”
Sanchez, who is waiting to see if he will receive clearance to feature against the Clarets, may have lost out in that one.
But his new manager has no doubts about his biggest signing’s ability to cope with the Premier League.
Poch added: “I think he’s young but he won the Copa Libertadores with his team in Colombia.
“I like his personality and how he is aggressive and fast — he will fit us very well. Will Ajax’s pressing style make it easier for him to adjust here? Yes.
“Davinson is with us even though a lot of clubs were interested in him — but he decided to join us. All the characteristics point to him becoming a success here.”
But Pochettino insisted Sanchez’s arrival will not mean the exit for Toby Alderweireld, who is yet to sign a new deal even though he has more than two years left on his current one.
Pochettino said: “The signing of Sanchez is not related. Today, I was talking for one hour with Toby. He is so happy here.
“The club are so busy trying to add more quality to the team. It’s true that Davinson is more competition for our centre-backs but that can only be a good thing.
“No doubt, when the window finishes, the chairman will try to make every single player of the club happy.”
Tottenham will be looking to record their first Prem win at Wembley with the fixture switched due to rugby league’s Challenge Cup final.
But Pochettino is not worried the ‘up ’n under’ mob will damage the pitch.
He added: “No, I’m not concerned as we have unbelievable groundsmen and Wembley have unbelievable groundsmen and they are all working together to ensure the pitch will be in the best condition for football.”
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