Tuesday 8 November 2016 16:50, UK
Tony Cottee says England's lack of in-form attacking options for their World Cup Qualifier against Scotland is "rather worrying".
Of the six strikers named in interim manager Gareth Southgate's squad for the games against Scotland and Spain, Arsenal's Theo Walcott is the leading scorer in domestic football this season with eight goals while the man Cottee believes will start up front, Harry Kane, has only just begun his comeback from an ankle injury.
Leicester's Jamie Vardy, whose 25 goals for the Premier League champions last term saw him included in England's Euro 2016 squad, has not scored since September 10, while captain Wayne Rooney has only scored once in his past 16 games for club and country.
Such statistics give Cottee cause for concern ahead of Friday's World Cup Qualifier against Scotland at Wembley.
"Theo (Walcott) is the in-form player but you wouldn't say he's an out-and-out centre-forward and so I think Harry Kane will lead the line, although he has only just come back from injury," Cottee told Sky Sports News HQ.
"He didn't even play 90 minutes at the weekend so he's short of fitness. (Jamie) Vardy is out of form, (Daniel) Sturridge has not been playing, and (Marcus) Rashford and Wayne Rooney have not been in the Manchester United team.
"I've always believed that you should pick England players on form, so that should mean Theo Walcott leading the line but I don't think Gareth Southgate will do that.
"It's rather worrying as an England fan. Who's going to lead the line and who's going to score the goals?"
Kane played 73 minutes of Tottenham's 1-1 draw at Arsenal on Sunday but looked exhausted by the time he was replaced by Vincent Janssen, although he did score from the penalty spot.
Cottee believes from his own experience that a centre-forward will need at least half a dozen games to recover their full match sharpness.
"I always found when I came back from an injury that it takes six games before you fully recover your sharpness, especially as a striker," he said.
"You get through the first two or three games on adrenaline. I think he'll get through the Scotland game but you won't see the real Harry Kane for another four or five games after this one."
