How Man Utd legend Wayne Rooney turned Harry Kane into world-class striker

Harry Kane has shared the secret of how the former England Striker Wayne Rooney helped to turn him into a great striker for England.

Wayne Rooney’s playing days were a delight to watch. Born in October 24, 1985, Rooney started his career as in Everton’s youth team at age nine.

He made his first professional debut in 2002 at the age of 16. He spent two seasons at the Mersey-side club before moving to Manchester United for £25.6 million in the 2004 summer transfer window.

To cut a long story short, Rooney became the record goalscorer for Manchester United and was the record goalscorer for the England national team from 2015 to 2023.

He has also made more appearances for England than any other outfield player.

How did Rooney do it?

The former Tottenham Hotspur forward Kane is currently the captain of his country. That is a role that Manchester United legend Rooney once filled.

Kane also holds the record for most goals scored by an England forward for the Three Lions – a record handed over by Rooney.

Kane’s current record is amazing, reaching 71 goals for England – scoring 18n more than Rooney and may go on to chase down Peter Shilton’s appearance record or 125 caps.

Achieving this feat would make the Bayern Munich forward the rightful owner to be the greatest ever to do it as a forward in an England shirt (GOAT), at least, for generations to come.

How it happened

It all started when Kane made his first interntional appearance for England 10 years ago against Lithuania.

His goal account was opened within 80 seconds of replacing Rooney in a Euro 2016 qualifier.

Kane told Cleats Club when asked to pick out the biggest influence on his historic England career, it was Rooney’s name that received the recognition for his historic efforts,

“I’d probably say that Wayne Rooney had the biggest influence and was probably the biggest help when I arrived in the senior team.

“We got on straight away and he had some conversations with me, both in the camp and also on the phone afterwards about what it is to be an England player and how things might change for me a little bit, from a personal and a professional point of view.

“He was a great help and a great captain. I feel like I took a lot from him and learnt a lot from him as well. I would have to say Wazza on that one.”

Even at age 31, kane still has many years ahead of him to break more records. He is also looking to break his well-documented trophy drought in 2025 as Bayern remains in the hunt for Bundesliga and Champions League titles.