Emile Heskey calls for return of striker after England friendly failure in front of goal

As the dust settled on what's been a largely underwhelming international break for England, there have been some questions that have been answered ahead of this summer's World Cup. 

We may not know what the two limp performances have done for several Three Lions stars' chances of making Thomas Tuchel's squad, but one thing that still remains uncertain is a back-up plan to Harry Kane. 

On Friday, neither Dominic Solanke nor Dominic Calvert-Lewis failed to take their chance in the 1-1 draw with Uruguay, while Kane's injury against Japan led to Tuchel experimenting with Phil Foden as a false nine, which is unlikely to be seen again given its lack of success. 

Therefore, the position remains up for grabs, with just two warm-up friendlies to go before the real action begins against Croatia in June. 

One name that wasn't included in Tuchel's party this time around was Ollie Watkins, who the manager omitted based on knowing what he already brings to his England team. 

Yet, speaking exclusively to DAZN News thanks to Betinia, former England hitman Emile Heskey has championed the Aston Villa forward to be the first choice understudy to the Three Lions skipper. 

He said, "I know Watkins is a confidence player, but as long as you get his confidence up, you’ve got a fantastic player — especially because he’s totally different to Harry Kane.

"He goes in behind, he’ll trouble the defence. If you’ve played against Harry Kane for 70 minutes and he’s dropping in, taking you into spaces you don’t want to go into, turning and starting moves off, and then suddenly you get a player running in behind you and you haven’t had to turn for 70 minutes, that could mess your head up.

"He’s also really powerful. He’s not very short, not very tall, but he’s got this really strong frame, so you can’t get around him. So yes, Ollie Watkins for me."

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Heskey may have earmarked Watkins as a back-up option, but there's no hesitation when asked who his starting front-three would be for England's opening World Cup game. 

Injury robbed the manager of fielding the trio, but in the former Leicester and Liverpool striker's mind, there's no doubt who should start.

"Obviously, the main one is Harry Kane," he added. 

"I would go Saka on the right, and I’d go Gordon on the left. I like Gordon. He’s very direct. The thing about Gordon is, I know we’re talking about Ollie Watkins, but Gordon can play centre-forward as well, and he’s a pain." 

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