Harry Kane insists he would trade in his golden boots for Euro 2020 glory as he remains fully focused on England amid speculation surrounding his Tottenham future.
The Three Lions captain is keen to leave Spurs in pursuit of success, but more pressing is his desire to get his hands on some silverware with his country this summer at Euro 2020.
Kane, who has been linked with a move to Manchester City, won the Premier League golden boot for the third time last season.
He also picked up the same accolade at the 2018 World Cup and added the Premier League playmaker of the year gong to his collection for laying on more assists than anyone else in the previous campaign.
But the 27-year-old would happily swap those individual honours to lift the European Championship trophy on July 11.
“I’d trade them in to win the Euros this summer, of course,” he said.
“I’ve said before that winning a team trophy, especially for our nation, would probably be the greatest highlight in my professional career.
“I think winning with England has always been a dream, always been an ultimate goal.
“I think whenever you put on this shirt, the aim is to win and obviously we’ve not won a major trophy for a long, long time.
“We all have that opportunity to be part of something special and I’m relishing that challenge, I love to take that challenge on.
“Of course, it was fantastic to win the golden boot in a World Cup but that was three years ago now so obviously I’ve changed as a player, I’m more experienced, so a lot of things can change in that time.
“I take confidence from that, knowing I’ve done it on the biggest stage possible.”
England started their Euro 2020 campaign by winning the opening game at the finals for the first time in the competition’s history.
Raheem Sterling hit the only goal in a 1-0 win over Group D rivals Croatia in a game where Kane was largely on the periphery.
There has been speculation around where Kane will be plying his trade next season while Tottenham’s prolonged hunt for a new manager has also been something the striker insists has not been on his mind.
Well that's another batch of articles written that have to be canned…..As per everyone else Paulo Fonseca will not become the new Tottenham manager after the club broke talks off. Not for financial reasons. Looks like their heads were turned by Gattuso. #THFC— Jonathan Veal (@jonathandveal83) June 17, 2021
“It’s very rare to have a home tournament and for me personally this is as close as it’s going to get,” he said.
“We’ve got to try to use that to our advantage as much as possible. That’s all I’m focused on.”
Kane admits England have to at least match their semi-final appearance at the World Cup three years ago to avoid any disappointment.
“I think that’s the aim,” he said.
“If we fell short of a semi-final, we’d all be disappointed as players, as a country and as staff as well.
“I think we have been moving in the right direction in the last three or four years so the next step is to go one step further, at least, and try and get into that final and hopefully try and win it.
“I think we all have to believe we can win it. That’s the reason we’re in this competition to try to win it.
A clash with old rivals Scotland is next up for England and victory over their neighbours would secure passage into the knockout stages.
Wembley. England v Scotland. Euros. Can’t wait. 🏴🦁🦁🦁 pic.twitter.com/0Pl1UPwpQ7— Harry Kane (@HKane) June 17, 2021
Kane knows the added pressure of such a fixture but is keeping his eyes on the prize of progressing from the group.
“For us it is a chance to qualify from the group that is our main focus,” he added.
“Of course we know what it means as players to represent England and when you are playing a home nation like Scotland we know what that entails with the fans and the build up around the game.
“We are trying to use that and take those feelings into the game and use that to our advantage.”
