Kane’s (hidden) statue

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Head Start

KANE STATUE

Harry Kane’s hidden statue reveal

If you’re an avid Route One reader, you’ll remember a story about Harry Kane’s £7,200 statue in hiding for years.

Well, ladies and gents, buckle up because we finally have our hands on the masterpiece (?)...

The Big Issue released the images yesterday after the mystery statue had been dormant for years “somewhere in East London”. 

To be honest, amongst all the bad football sculptures of the past (Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah), we don’t think Kane’s is too bad. But a Spurs fan on Reddit said “Yeah, it should probably stay hidden”.

Anyway, the statue hasn’t found a home yet. Not because of anything other than Waltham Forest Council can’t find somewhere to put it after spending “hours and hours” trying to find the perfect home for the England captain. What a pain, ey? 

Be right back… just applying for the job of Statue Location Chooser.

ENGLAND INTERNATIONAL

England’s XI… based on stats

All managers have their favourites. Gareth Southgate, more than anyone, has been accused of ignoring the stats and sticking to his guns. To name a few of his favourites:

• Mason Mount

• Harry Maguire

• Jordan Pickford

They’ve all had their moment for England and stats aren’t everything. But, what if Southgate went on holiday and decided to just leave England’s team selection up to the stats?

Well, WhoScored tried to find this out. Based on their stats this season, they’ve used their stats to create England’s best XI. Here goes:

Hmmm… we can’t help but think that, if it’s based on stats, Ollie Watkins should be starting. You know… 16 goals, 10 assists. 

Anyway, let us know what you think of this XI… any changes?

Plus…

Liverpool have confirmed the appointment of Richard Hughes as their new sporting director from the end of the season (More)

Spanish authorities raid Luis Rubiales' home as part of a corruption investigation into the deal that took the Spanish Super Cup to Saudi Arabia (More)

Newcastle’s Sven Botman is set to undergo surgery next week after suffering a knee injury against Manchester City and is expected to reign within six to nine months (More)

Clickbait Corner

Ahhh we love a bit of clickbait, don’t we? Well, yesterday, The Sun produced a brilliant piece of clickbait that is founded on - you guessed it - absolutely nothing.

The title of the article… Chelsea and Man City warned they could be KICKED OUT of Premier League if found guilty of breaching FFP rules.

The same journalist was caught out on Chelsea TV in 2011 for using the same tactics to farm for clicks. At least we know he’s still going strong.

Off The Pitch

World News

🍗 A ‘lucky’ statue of KFC founder Colonel Sanders has been disposed of in Japan after a 39-year saga (More)

💸 MacKenzie Scott, who helped ex-husband Jeff Bezos build Amazon, has donated $640 million to non-profits (More)

🇰🇭 The Cambodian prime minister has banned musical vehicle horns to deter dancing (More)

📉 UK inflation has fallen more than forecast to 3.4%, the lowest since 2021 (More)

💳 A Chinese takeaway worker led British police to a Bitcoin seizure worth £3 billion, the biggest ever seizure in the UK (More)

🐊 A 215 million-year-old crocodile ancestor that pre-dates dinosaurs has been identified (More)

Extra Time

Footballers' old tweets and Instagram posts are resurfacing… and Dries Mertens’ post from 606 weeks ago is the best one yet.  

Diego Forlan is the reason we have the shirt removal booking rule. No seriously… he couldn’t keep it on. 

Tyrone Mings is recovering from an ACL injury. And a recent video has sparked interest in the amount of muscle he’s lost in his right leg.

Klopp ahead of Ferguson in the all-time Premier League manager ranking? Surely not.

The annual NXGN list has been released ranking the 50 best wonderkids in football. Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal takes this year’s top spot. 

On Today

FOOTBALL 

EURO 2024 and Friendlies: Multiple Matches (17:00 and 19:45 GMT, ViaPlay)

National League: FC Halifax v Chesterfield (19:45 GMT, National League TV)

RACING

F1: Rolex Australian Grand Prix (01:30 GMT, Sky Sports F1)

TENNIS

ATP: Miami Open (15:00 and 23:00 GMT, Sky Sports Main Event)

GOLF

DP World Tour: Singapore Classic (05:00 GMT, Sky Sports Golf)

PGA: Valspar Championship (11:30 and 18:00 GMT, Sky Sports Golf)

SNOOKER

World Open: Round 3 (06:30 and 11:30 GMT, Discovery +)

RUGBY

NRL: Penrith Panthers v Brisbane Broncos (09:00 GMT, Sky Sports Arena)

DARTS

ATP: Miami Open (15:00 GMT, Sky Sports Main Event)

BASKETBALL

NBA: Orlando Magic v New Orleans Pelicans (23:00 GMT, TNT Sports 1)

HOCKEY

NHL: Multiple Matches (23:00 GMT, Viaplay)

*EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

“I’m more afraid of my mum than Sven-Goren Eriksson or David Moyes.”

-Wayne Rooney