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England's striker shortage laid bare in Tuchel's latest squad
England manager Thomas Tuchel's 25-man selection for the upcoming internationals against Serbia and Albania has underscored a glaring issue: Harry Kane is the only out-and-out striker in the group. While injuries to Ollie Watkins, Dominic Solanke, and Liam Delap partially explain the absence, the broader trend reveals a systemic decline in English centre-forwards-a crisis looming larger as the 2026 World Cup approaches.
Kane, now 32, remains England's all-time top scorer with 76 goals in 110 caps, but his dominance masks a stark reality: only eight English strikers have featured in the Premier League this season, with 22-year-old Delap the sole under-26 representative. Behind him, the pipeline appears barren. England's Under-21 side, which competed at last summer's European Championship without a recognised striker, currently fields just one-Manchester City's Divin Mubama, 21, who has yet to score in the top flight and is plying his trade on loan in the Championship.
Where have England's traditional number nines gone?
The scarcity isn't new. Last season, just three English strikers-Watkins (16 goals), Delap (12), and Danny Welbeck (10)-hit double digits in the Premier League, the fewest ever. Compare that to 1992-93, the Premier League's inaugural season, when 20 English strikers scored 10+ goals. This campaign, English strikers have managed just 11 goals collectively, projecting to a paltry 38 by season's end-barely more than Andy Cole (34) or Alan Shearer (34) scored individually in the mid-1990s.
Veterans like Welbeck, 34, and Callum Wilson, 33, are the only English strikers with multiple Premier League goals this term. Abroad, Ivan Toney-now 29 and playing for Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli-leads with 11 goals in 15 games, but his last England appearance was a late substitute cameo in June. Tuchel's options are so thin that versatile forwards like Marcus Rashford, Jarrod Bowen, and Phil Foden may be pressed into false-nine roles, a tactical bandage for a systemic wound.
'A massive problem': Why England stopped producing strikers
Former England internationals Chris Sutton and Alan Shearer, who thrived in the 1990s as prolific Premier League strikers, point to tactical evolution and youth development as root causes. Sutton, who scored 25 goals for Norwich in 1993-94, notes that modern systems often sideline traditional centre-forwards:
"Everyone wants to be a creative player off the wide areas, or a left-footer cutting in from the right. Those players can score, but it's very different to having someone who can lead the line," Sutton told the BBC.
Shearer, England's record holder with 260 Premier League goals, echoes the sentiment, arguing that academy coaching now prioritises possession over penetration. "Kids train with a focus on passing sequences-keeper to defence to midfield-and the striker barely touches the ball," he said on The Rest is Football podcast. "Why would anyone want to play centre-forward if you're irrelevant for 90% of the game?"
Michael Owen, who shared the 1997-98 Golden Boot as an 18-year-old, believes he'd be redeployed as a winger today. "I didn't have the physicality to occupy two defenders," he admitted on Rio Ferdinand's podcast. "Modern strikers need to be hybrid players-press-resistant, mobile, and comfortable in wide areas." The decline of two-striker systems, once a staple of English football, has further marginalised traditional number nines.
From SAS to scarcity: A lost generation
In the 1990s, England boasted a glut of world-class strikers: Shearer, Ian Wright, Les Ferdinand, Teddy Sheringham, Robbie Fowler, and Dion Dublin, among others. Many, like Sutton's former Blackburn partner Shearer, were weekly starters-a luxury today's English strikers rarely enjoy. "Back then, foreign strikers were arriving, but the pool was still deep," Sutton recalled. "Now, Premier League clubs prefer importing proven talent."
Of the current crop, only Welbeck, Watkins, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have started more than three league games this season. Eddie Nketiah, Solanke, and Harvey Barnes? Zero starts. "If you're a half-decent English striker today, you've a shot at the World Cup," Sutton joked. "The bar is that low."
What's next? A World Cup gamble or a tactical rethink?
Tuchel's immediate dilemma is navigating the Serbia and Albania fixtures without a backup for Kane. Long-term, the crisis demands structural solutions: revisiting youth coaching to value traditional strikers, incentivising Premier League clubs to develop homegrown talent, or even revisiting two-striker systems to nurture partnerships like Shearer-Sutton or Owen-Heskey.
For now, England's attack hinges on Kane's enduring brilliance-and the hope that Delap, Watkins, or an emergent talent can fill the void. As Sutton quipped: "I'm tempted to dust off my boots." Without intervention, the famous number nine shirt may become a relic.
