'Wouldn't be a surprise' - Alan Shearer backs Arsenal star to replace Harry Kane

Alan Shearer is backing Arsenal star Bukayo Saka to become the England captain. The role is currently held by Harry Kane, who is now entering the back-end of his career, currently 31 years of age.

Kane is likely to remain the skipper for at least another year or two, although the future is a little murky for England currently, with Lee Carsley only in temporary charge with a new permanent boss yet to be found. What is certain is that the Three Lions will need to start thinking about a new captain in the not too distant future, and according to Premier League legend Shearer, Saka will be a candidate, even though her is not the first choice captain for Arsenal currently, behind Martin Odegaard.

“It wouldn't surprise me to see Saka as a future England captain. He's already captained Arsenal and because of his attitude, ability, and the way everyone looks up to him, that to me shows he has all the attributes to be an England captain,” Shearer told Betfair. "When your team needs you the most to pull something out the bag, Saka can and does do that. I am 100% certain Saka could be a future England captain.”

On Saka’s quality, he added: “He gets whacked every single game, people try double up on him, kick him and he just goes out and performs with such consistency. He's an incredible talent, has a great personality and he's just impossible not to like. His attitude is second to none; think of the way he has responded to what happened to him with England in 2021, and the way he’s moved on from it.

“He's just a phenomenal talent, and he's so gutsy and tough as well. I've been there where everyone is trying to mark you out of the game and it's tough. You can bet your bottom dollar that he's the talk of the opposition dressing room before games. Many have tried but not many have stopped him. He's just incredible, almost impossible to stop, and such a wonderful talent.”

Carsley’s England role

Interim England boss Carsley is now overseeing his second window in charge, and it shouldn’t be too difficult a job for now, according to Shearer. He said: “The current England job is exactly what you would want as a manager or a coach with the players available. Lee Carsley has got Saka, Foden, Bellingham, Palmer, Grealish and Gordon to name a few, and I don't care who he chooses to play, so long as England go out, be successful and win games.

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“If he has to leave out and upset one or two players then so be it, but that's the beauty of this current England job, you're going to have to upset a few because you’ve so many fantastic players. Foden won the Player of the Season last year and rightly so, but has hardly played so far this season, whereas Palmer has started like a train. Bukayo Saka has been ridiculously good, too. Jude Bellingham had an injury but is coming back so the talent there is unbelievable, and they'd walk into most teams. We're lucky they're English.”