Premier League Star Set to Be Announced as England Captain Earlier Than Planned

Following the retirement of England Veteran Wayne Rooney, a new captain is set to be appointed within the next coming weeks. Sources from the Daily Mirror have

Following the retirement of England Veteran Wayne Rooney, a new captain is set to be appointed within the next coming weeks. 

Sources from the Daily Mirror have indicated that Tottenham forward Harry Kane is likely to being taking the armband for the Three Lions for the foreseeable future. 

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It appears that Harry Kane was always the natural successor to Wayne Rooney, however his shock international retirement has put the one club man in the hot seat prematurely. 

Despite only having 19 caps for his country, the 24-year-old captained Tottenham throughout the entirety of last season and has also shown his promise where he captained England in a 2-2 draw against Scotland during a World Cup Qualifier, in which he provided a equalising goal within stoppage time. 

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However, England boss Gareth Southgate has made it clear that he wanted to delay the announcement of the new captain to reduce the importance and focus of the role, as he expects there to be leadership throughout the team and not just from a single player.

Along with his delayed announcement to encourage leadership within the squad, Southgate has also made it apparent that to be in contention for international squad selection, they must play first team football for their respective clubs. 

This new requirement was given to the England squad in a team meeting at the beginning of the summer, which coincidentally has seen young English talents such as Nathaniel Chalobah move from Chelsea to Watford; whilst young English defender Michael Keane decline a move back to Manchester United as more first team minutes were available at Everton. 

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With much stricter rules now in place, this may end the era of international selection where good form and actual ability overrides the perceived ability and the 'name' of a player, sorry Jack Wilshere.