Mauricio Pochettino believes Harry Kane could miss the start of next season if he plays in the European Under-21 Championship this summer. The striker will travel with Tottenham to Malaysia and Australia for friendly matches before joining up with that England squad, heightening fears of burnout.
Kane has enjoyed a remarkable campaign for Spurs – scoring 30 times in all competitions – and is likely to be named in Gareth Southgate’s squad on Wednesday for the under-21 tournament in the Czech Republic.
However, Spurs travel to Malaysia for a friendly which takes place on 27 May before playing Sydney FC in Australia on 30 May. The European Under-21 Championship runs from 17-30 June and there are worries that Kane’s busy summer could have a negative impact on his fitness at the beginning of 2015-16.
When asked if the 21-year-old may miss the start of next season, Pochettino, the Tottenham head coach, said: “Yes, maybe. But I am very sure that the FA will take the right decision for Harry Kane and all England players. The problem is that there are different interests. We are a club and the FA are interested in England. It is the manager’s decision – in this case Gareth Southgate – how he builds his team and uses his players.
“He [Kane] is not tired but the problem is if you play a lot of games in the Premier League and the Europa League over a season you expend a lot of energy. It is not easy but it is not about tiredness, it is about next season.
“We can see him being the future No1 not just for us but for the senior England team. I don’t want to speak too much, but it is the FA’s decision.
“I am happy if Harry is happy. From then, it is a decision for the FA and we have to wait for that because they have to decide if they are picking him for the under-21s or if Roy Hodgson is picking him for the senior squad. He deserves to go [on Spurs’ pre-season tour]. He will enjoy seeing a different country and it is one week to enjoy with our supporters in Australia and Malaysia, so he deserves to go.”
Kane scored on his full England debut against Lithuania in March, with a header 79 seconds after coming on as a substitute. If he is selected by Southgate on Wednesday he will not feature in the full England squad for upcoming friendly against the Republic of Ireland and the Euro 2016 qualifier in Slovenia.
Hodgson, the England coach, was initially critical of Tottenham’s plan to take Kane on tour to Australia, describing the match against Sydney as a “marketing game”. His attitude cooled after talking with Pochettino and the Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, when England trained at Tottenham’s Enfield base in March.
Southgate, meanwhile, also has a decision to make regarding the potential selection of Luke Shaw. The Manchester United manager, Louis van Gaal, has insisted the young left-back needs rest and should not be selected for the European Championship, saying “we have to protect him”. There have been talks between the Manchester United and England camps in recent days in advance of Southgate’s squad announcement.
The Crystal Palace manager, Alan Pardew, hopes Southgate will consider selecting Wilfried Zaha due to the winger’s impressive recent form. “I’d love it for him to get in the squad,” said Pardew.
“He hasn’t played much in the last two or three years so I really hope Gareth picks him, but obviously that’s up to Gareth. I have spoken to him about it and said I know he [Zaha] is not really in your group at the moment but if you get an injury or wildcard you should consider him because he’s in terrific form.”
