'Unselfish' England star tipped as 'perfect' replacement for captain Harry Kane as Jude Bellingham's armband credentials are ignored

Declan Rice is being billed as the "perfect" replacement for Harry Kane whenever the day comes for England to appoint a new captain.

  • Bayern striker skippers Three Lions
  • Chasing down more records
  • star billed as ideal successor

'Unselfish' England star tipped as 'perfect' replacement for captain Harry Kane as Jude Bellingham's armband credentials are ignored'Unselfish' England star tipped as 'perfect' replacement for captain Harry Kane as Jude Bellingham's armband credentials are ignored'Unselfish' England star tipped as 'perfect' replacement for captain Harry Kane as Jude Bellingham's armband credentials are ignored

The Three Lions will not be passing their armband on any time soon, with prolific striker Kane still very much the leader in that camp. He is already his country’s all-time leading goalscorer, with 73 efforts to his name, and is expected to break Peter Shilton’s appearance record of 125 caps.

While the frontman has plenty left in the tank, he is 32 years of age and will either be phased out of international football or walk away on his own accord at some point. A new skipper will then be required.

Stuart Pearce knows what it takes to fill that role, with the legend taking great pride in leading onto the field when performing at the peak of his powers. He believes that a maturing midfielder on Arsenal’s books is the ideal candidate to take over from Kane.

Pearce – speaking in association with Freebets.com, home of best casino sites – told BALLGM when asked if the likes of Rice and superstar Jude Bellingham are in the mix to succeed Kane: “I would like to see Declan Rice. I’m biased, I’ve worked with Dec at . I’ve seen his maturity coming through. He handled a move brilliantly away from West Ham, with the blessing of the West Ham fans. I think he would be perfect. Very unselfish young man as well. I think he’d be absolutely ideal to take over from Harry.”

England, who are now working under former and Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel, will return to action in September when taking in 2026 qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.