Harry Kane admits that he has one eye on Peter Shilton's England cap record as the Bayern Munich striker reflects on reaching his 10-year anniversary with the national team

Harry Kane celebrates his 10th anniversary as an England player on Thursday eyeing Peter Shilton’s record of 125 England caps.

It was back on March 27, 2015 that a callow 21-year-old Tottenham striker, with 29 goals to his name already that season, announced himself on the international stage by scoring 79 seconds into his England debut. And 105 caps later since that 4-0 win against Lithuania, Kane has been almost undroppable ever since.

If he plays in the World Cup qualifier against Andorra and the friendly with Senegal in June, only five England greats – Bobby Moore, Steven Gerrard, David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Shilton – will stand between him and 153 years of history.

After Monday night’s 3-0 stroll against Latvia, where Kane scored his second goal in as many games under new Three Lions coach Thomas Tuchel, the Wembley DJ played Bachman Turner Overdrive’s anthem for optimists, You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet.

Ten years, four managers, five tournaments, two finals, 71 goals and a glut of near misses with glory later, King Harry hopes it’s a promise, not just a catchy 1970s refrain. If he’s still calling the tune at the World Cup final in New Jersey next year, Kane will be closing in on Shilton as leader of Tuchel’s Jersey Boys.

READ MORE: Thomas Tuchel admits Jude Bellingham was 'lucky' after mistakes against Latvia READ MORE: Thomas Tuchel makes Jude Bellingham admission after England win over Latvia

He admits the 126-cap target is on his radar, saying: “It’s definitely there. I’ve made it clear I want to play for England as long as possible. The caps come round quick. Each camp comes round and before you know it you’re on another few, another five.

“Of course leading up to the World Cup, there are plenty of games before then and hopefully eight games in that tournament. To get 105 is special already. For sure, I want a few more.

“It’s 10 years this week since I first played for England. It’s been a great journey, a lot of ups, a lot of downs, we’ve been extremely close and it’s been a pleasure to be a part of that.

“Now it’s a new era, a new chapter and I’m even more excited that hopefully I’ll have more years here and we can have those special moments in this country to give the fans what we all so desperately want, which is to win a major trophy.”

To reach his goals, Kane – who turns 32 in July – will have to stay the course as football’s greedy administrators flog their thoroughbreds to the point of exhaustion. For the second year running, Kane will not get a proper off-season to recharge the batteries because of the ludicrous and undesirable Club World Cup.

But some time in the next six weeks, he should be fortified by breaking one of football’s unlikeliest barren runs and landing the first winner’s medal of his career. Bayern Munich are six points clear at the Bundesliga summit and it would take a Devon Loch Zusammenbruch (collapse) to deny the England captain an overdue taste of glory.

Kane admitted: “Of course it's another summer where you don't really have a break. If we get to the Champions League final, that takes us to May 31, and then you'll almost go straight into England and straight on to the Club World Cup.

“If we don't get to the Champions League final, we have a little period before the international break, so I think it's about trying to manage those moments. There's nothing really we can do about it – you just have to try and talk to your coaches and try to get as much (down) time as you can when the opportunity arises.

“But ultimately, it's hard to pick and choose. Playing for Bayern Munich is important, playing for England is important and everyone has goals they want to achieve. And as a player, you have to accept that.”

As he crests the summit of his peak years, Kane has learned to tailor his fitness and recovery to the demands of an elite striker.

“As you play more and more games, and you get less and less rest, it is more about how you recover - food, sleep, ice baths, saunas, all the different one per cents that can help you,’” he said. “It's less about doing loads of weights and stuff in the gym because you don't really have time. In the last four or five years, I feel like I've approached that in a good way and I've not missed many games, especially since I had my big hamstring injury.”

Predictably, Kane resorted to the songs of praise hymnbook after the first England camp under Tuchel. If Gareth Southgate had served up 2-0 and 3-0 home wins against opposition as limited as Albania and Latvia, he would have been fried.

But Kane’s debrief was on-message, commending Tuchel’s energy and enthusiasm around the squad. He revealed: “Whether it’s watching other games in the lounge area or being around the boys a bit more, he wants to have the involvement, he wants to see the players all the time, how they are, how they are reacting. We saw more signs out there (against Latvia) of what he wants and that will just grow and grow.”