Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards and Graeme Souness were involved in a heated debate over whether Harry Kane should be considered the best Premier League striker of all time. Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer hold the record for the most goals in Premier League history with 260 goals.
However, Kane moved one step closer to his tally, netting in the win over Man City at the weekend. That goal moved the England captain onto 200 Premier League goals, now eight being Wayne Rooney in second place who has 208 goals.
Former Manchester City defender Richards put up a strong case for Shearer being the best ever, but Carragher felt that Kane should take the crown. At 29-years-old, the Spurs frontman has time on his side to beat Shearer's record.
READ MORE: 'How can I not be?' Jurgen Klopp concerned about Liverpool form as Newcastle lie in wait
Full Sky Sports transcript from Jamie Carragher, Micah Richards and Graeme Souness on Alan Shearer and Harry Kane:
Jamie Carragher: "I’ve said this before, we’ve waxed lyrical about Harry Kane over the last 10 years since he’s come onto the scene getting goals. There’s something about supporters from the clubs, whether it’s tribalism, whether it’s the fact that he hasn’t won a trophy, that it feels to me at times that people are reluctant to put him alongside Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker, Wayne Rooney. It almost feels to me that Harry Kane never gets put above any of them, I don't know why, because for me I think the argument you can make for Harry Kane ahead of maybe those three players I’ve mentioned, is that Wayne Rooney could play up front and drop off, but you wouldn’t class him - I know he’s got loads of goals - as an out-and-out goal scorer like you would Shearer and Lineker.
"It feels to me that Harry Kane is the only one that could really do both, where you class him as an out-and-out goalscorer, and the longer his career has gone on he’s come into that playmaker role. The passes he plays, he’s the best passer in the England team, he’s one of the best passers probably alongside Kevin de Bruyne in the Premier League right now, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen that from someone who’s got so many goals in the past.
"People maybe question the trophy side of it, but Alan Shearer only won one trophy, I think Gary Lineker only won one trophy in English football if I’m right - an FA Cup with Tottenham - so I don’t know why, but for me he’s got to go alongside these players that I’m talking about, and at the end of his career I’m thinking I’d be putting him above them."
Micah Richards: "His loyalty has almost gone against him a little bit, when Spurs, they’re fighting for the Champions League, he’s always been a top player - we’ve been saying it for years. A lot of people will say show us your trophies at the end of your career -"
Graeme Souness: "Who says that?"
Micah Richards: "Everyone says that. You don’t shut up about trophies and I’ve only been doing Sky for three years."
David Jones: "You bring them in your bag!"
Souness: "When you get beyond 25 you stop counting, sorry."
Richards: "No, but he’s a top player. He might still win something with Spurs, you know, he could win a Champions League, he could win and FA Cup [this season], so let’s not write him off, we have to judge him on his goals. I don’t think personally he’s as good as Rooney or Alan Shearer because when Rooney came on the scene he was doing things that a lot of players [weren’t], Alan Shearer was scoring 30, 35 goals -"
Carragher: "He [Harry Kane] is going to score more goals in the Premier League, he’s going to get there or there abouts, so when you’re saying Shearer has scored more goals, I love Alan Shearer, one of the greatest, but why should Harry Kane not be at the top?"
Richards: "Alan Shearer in terms of what he did -"
Carragher: "Yeah but that’s what he’s doing."
Richards: "Yeah but when I watched Alan Shearer, the way he scored all these different types of goals, I just preferred Alan Shearer as a striker. You’re talking about all-round game, but as a goalscorer I just liked Alan Shearer. Look at the defenders, back in your day, look at all the top defenders there were in your time. The defenders nowadays have not got a patch on them. It was harder for strikers back in the day to score in my opinion, I don’t think defending is as good nowadays. There’s not really an art to defending, and defending now is coming out with the ball, getting into spaces -
Carragher: "Is Alan Shearer in your ear or something? We can’t take stuff away from Harry Kane. Listen, Spurs fans will be watching this and you don’t want to upset them, but of course a player by the end of his career wants to win as much as they possibly can. If you’re asking me about his legacy in terms of goals and what he’s done, he’ll have wanted trophies alongside that, but I’ll assure you there’s lots of players who’ve won lots of trophies out there who are very, very lucky with the timing of the clubs they were at and the manager they had - and I’m talking about every top club that’s won trophies.
"He’s a player who will be remembered for a very, very long time if he gets that Premier League record and the England record as well. He’ll have wanted trophies to go alongside it, but sometimes there’s something special about a player playing for being that man, that club, we think about Harry Kane in that shirt, and if he could go down - and I think he will - as the greatest Tottenham player of all time, the record Premier League goal scorer of all time, and the England goalscorer of all time, do you think he’d swap that for an FA Cup medal? Or a Carabao Cup medal? I don’t think he would - not a chance."
Our 48-page Carabao Cup final special is available to pre-order now! Click HERE to get your copy as Newcastle United prepare for a historic day out at Wembley. Also available to purchase through local participating retailers from February 15.
READ NEXT:
The intriguing Matt Targett decision for Eddie Howe with Newcastle star edging back to fitness
Eddie Howe details Newcastle United plan for replacing suspended Bruno Guimaraes
Callum Wilson sends 'confident' message as Newcastle United reach Carabao Cup final
Newcastle bid another emotional farewell in 'really nice moment' away from television cameras
Alexander Isak must be the man to replace huge Bruno Guimaraes void at Newcastle United in February
