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Does Harry Kane deserve a place in Roy Hodgson's England squad?

WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 10:  Harry Kane of England during the UEFA U21 Championship Playoff First Leg match between England and Croatia at Molineu

Which four strikers should Roy Hodgson name in his next England squad? We look at the stats...

Roy Hodgson has revealed Harry Kane is not guaranteed a spot in his next England squad – despite the Tottenham striker scoring 24 goals in all competitions this season.

The England manager told Sky Sports: "It's not always a question of are they good enough to be in there. It's more if there is space at this moment in time.

“Up until now most of the players that we've had, at least in the forward area of our squad, have done quite well for us during the autumn, so you can't include everybody unfortunately.”

So which forwards should Hodgson make room for when he selects his squad for this month’s Euro 2016 qualifier with Lithuania and friendly in Italy?

Hodgson named Wayne RooneyDanny WelbeckRickie Lambert and Saido Berahino in his previous England squad, for a Euro 2016 fixture against Slovenia and friendly with Scotland.

The team racked up six goals in those two fixtures, with Rooney netting three times and Welbeck twice, as England extended their lead at the top of their Euro 2016 qualifying pool to six points and won a passionate contest at Celtic Park.

However, England regular Daniel Sturridge is fit again, Kane is on form, QPR’s Charlie Austin is the leading English scorer in the Premier League and Danny Ings continues to impress for Burnley, scoring five times in the top flight in 2015.

Stats

Hodgson's strikers in November
Roy's contenders

So what do the stats say?

In the Premier League, Austin has scored the most goals (15), Kane has the best goals-per-minute record (scoring every 114 minutes), Rooney has the best shot conversion rate (29 per cent) and joint-most assists with Ings (four).

While Welbeck and Lambert have managed just six goals between them in a combined 41 appearances in the league this term, the pair do have international pedigree.

Arsenal forward Welbeck is England’s top scorer in Euro 2016 qualifying with five strikes, while Liverpool’s Lambert has three goals and three assists in just 318 minutes of international action, meaning he scores or creates a goal every 53 minutes for his country.

Sturridge, meanwhile, has scored three times for Liverpool since returning from a long-term injury and has four goals in his last nine internationals.

Hodgson has no easy task to narrow down his options to four. Who would make your squad?

England strikers – Premier League goals this season

Charlie Austin - 15 (139mins/goal)

Harry Kane - 14 (114 mins/goal)

Saido Berahino - 12 (178 mins/goal)

Wayne Rooney - 10 (211 mins/goal)

Danny Ings - 9 (238 mins/goal)

Danny Welbeck - 4 (390 mins/goal)

Daniel Sturridge - 3 (175 mins/goal)

Rickie Lambert - 2 (297 mins/goal)

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