Wayne Rooney doesn't think Harry Kane will think twice about going full throttle for Bayern Munich between now and the World Cup — and that's probably the right call, even if it makes England fans nervous.
"I don't think he'll be slowing down," Rooney told the Press Association. Simple as that. The man who held England's scoring record before Kane took it from him three years ago knows how elite strikers think, and preservation mode isn't part of the vocabulary.
48 goals and still accelerating
Kane has scored 48 times in 40 appearances for Bayern this season. That's not a hot streak — that's the most prolific campaign of a career already built on consistency that's baffled the Ballon d'Or voters for years. Rooney finds it strange that Kane still doesn't get mentioned for the game's biggest individual honour: "He's scored goals, he's created goals at both club and international level... year in, year out, and he never gets mentioned for the big honours."
This season might finally change that. At 32, Kane is playing the best football of his life, and Bayern are nine points clear in the Bundesliga with a Champions League quarter-final place secured. His odds to win the Ballon d'Or have never been shorter — and he'd become the first Englishman to claim it since Michael Owen 25 years ago.
Rooney's logic on the World Cup is sound: a player half-committed to his club game is a player more likely to get hurt. Kane's best injury insurance is doing exactly what he's doing — staying locked in, staying sharp. "Any player will tell you that you're playing for your club and when you're playing for your club, that's all that matters until that season is over."
England's World Cup ambitions run through Kane
Rooney was direct about the stakes: "I think such an important aspect for England is having Harry Kane fit and if he is, then he'll be a major reason why we do win it if we do." That cuts both ways. England's tournament betting prices are essentially a proxy bet on Kane's availability and form. If he arrives in North America in the same condition he's in right now, he'll go in as one of the favourites to finish as top scorer.
Kane was absent for Friday's 1-1 draw against Uruguay but returns for Tuesday's friendly against Japan — a reminder that while the domestic season still has weeks to run, the international machine is already warming up.
Rooney's parting wish: that Vincent Kompany eases Kane's minutes once the Bundesliga title is sealed. "Hopefully Bayern Munich have the league won quite early and Vincent Kompany gives him a little bit of help!" Don't count on it. Kompany will want him sharp for a Champions League run that could define his first season in Munich. Kane will play. He always does.
