'The beginning of the end' – Harry Kane issued stark warning by Man Utd icon Paul Scholes

Paul Scholes has warned football fans that it could now be “the beginning of the end” for Harry Kane’s international career. The 31-year-old failed to impress at the summer’s Euro 2024 tournament in Germany, despite making it all the way to the final against Spain.

England’s star striker and skipper managed just three goals in the competition, despite participating in each of the Three Lions’ seven games. And despite holding the title for England’s all-time leading goalscorer, with 69 goals in 103 games, the captain has looked a shell of his former self on the world stage during his recent UEFA Nations League outings.

Kane failed to make a mark on England’s maiden 2-1 win against the Republic of Ireland back in September, but showed promise in their second fixture – finding the back of the net twice in a 2-0 win over Finland at Wembley. He then went three games without scoring for the Three Lions, before slotting home a 53rd-minute penalty against Ireland on Sunday in a 5-0 win at Wembley. And Scholes believes that the forward is starting to look a little out of place while representing his country.

Speaking on Sky Bet’s Stick to Football podcast about his performances over the recent international break, Scholes said: “It felt like the end of Harry Kane – the beginning of the end. He looked out of place in the team.” He added: “When you get older you feel like everything happens a bit quicker around you and it looked a bit like that. But I don’t know how we’d replace him.”

Despite suffering a lacklustre run of form for his country, Kane has continued to impress at club level. The bagsman has scored 61 goals in as many appearances since making the move from Spurs to Bayern Munich in a £82million move last August – 11 of which have come this season alone.

The Bavarians currently lead the Bundesliga table with 26 points, having won eight of their 10 opening games and drawing the other two. They play host to Augsburg on Friday evening with hopes of extending their lead even further.

At the start of his career, Kane impressed at U17, U19, U20 and U21 level for England before receiving his first senior call up in 2015, entering the fray as a 71st-minute substitute for Wayne Rooney.

Already 3-0 up at the time, it took Kane just 79 seconds, three touches of the ball and a well-placed header at the back post to mark his debut with a goal in a fairytale state of affairs. The striker broke Rooney’s leading scorer record (53 goals) last March, courtesy of a second-half penalty against Italy which notched his own personal tally up to 54 at the time.

And Rooney was one of the first people to congratulate the striker, taking to X to write: “Congratulations to Harry Kane on becoming England’s all-time leading goalscorer. I knew it wouldn’t take long but that was quick. Great man, unbelievable goalscorer and an England legend.”

Over the years, Kane has proven invaluable to England thanks to his contributions on and off the pitch, and for now he is still expected to be part of the squad when the World Cup roles around in the summer of 2026. But should new boss Thomas Tuchel – who worked with him successfully at Bayern just last season – look to replace him in the near future, he may have a hard time in doing so.

At 28, Ollie Watkins may make a suitable short-term replacement for Kane, but in terms of the bigger picture, England’s international set-up seems to lack proven centre-forwards who could fill the striker’s massive shoes.

Cole Palmer could be utilised in a central role – albeit his best position is undoubtedly in attacking midfield, Dominic Solanke has failed to make much of a mark since his move from Bournemouth to Spurs over the summer, and while Noni Madueke has impressed with Chelsea, he’s still missing that breakthrough season to show consistency.