Harry Kane to look 'more seriously' at NFL kicking career

Harry Kane said he will look "a bit more seriously" at a career as an NFL placekicker, and that it could be combined with a move to Major League Soccer. The England captain, 33, spoke on Wednesday ahead of England's Nations League fixture against Spain on Saturday.

"Maybe if I am in the MLS in the future or somewhere like that it might be a thing where you could connect the two, with the seasons," Kane said. "That is something I will try and look at a bit more seriously. It all depends on what happens in my career over the next five or six years, the motivation and what I want to do. The NFL is a lot more realistic than the golf one, let's put it that way."

He drew a direct comparison with his own game. "I take penalties and it is a very similar pressure, technique," Kane said. If he went ahead, he said, he would spend between six months and a year practising first.

The idea is not new. In 2019 he told ESPN's Bruce Schoenfeld he would want to try it in "10 or 12 years", according to Yahoo Sports.

For now, Kane said, his focus is on Bayern Munich. "It is in the back of my mind because right now I am feeling that I want to play as long as I can here." He added that he is "fairly close" to signing a new contract with the club, where he is in his fourth season and has won two Bundesliga titles.

He arrives at the Spain game in form. The reports give his last season at Bayern as 61 goals in all competitions (the Associated Press puts it at 73), and he is a Ballon d'Or contender, with the ceremony in London next month. England and Spain both lead the World Cup table with 7 points from 3 matches.

If a new Bayern deal is signed, the American plan would sit at the end of a longer contract rather than the start of a move. That may mean any decision on MLS and the NFL is some years off.