England's future No. 9? Tottenham prospect trains alongside senior Three Lions as search for Harry Kane's successor begins

Scarlett was spotted training with the senior England side on Monday, as he has been called up to the national team by Thomas Tuchel after Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins was forced to pull out of the squad after suffering a freak injury against Wales. Watkins, who scored his sixth international goal in the Three Lions' 3-0 win at Wembley last week, had to be replaced shortly before half-time due to a heavy collision with the post. He slid into it, looking for his brace. 

It is yet to be confirmed if Scarlett will make it to England's matchday squad in the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Latvia in Riga on Tuesday, but his call-up to the full national team is certainly a hint that Tuchel may have begun his search for a long-term successor to Harry Kane.

32-year-old Kane, who suffered a knock to his foot in his last outing for Bayern Munich, did not feature for England in the international friendly against Wales last week. In the build-up to the clash, Tuchel had said: "Harry will miss the game. He got a kick in his last match with Bayern Munich. It was too painful to kick a ball, it was too risky that he gets another kick and will just like be in an up and down situation pain-wise, so we gave him the chance that everything calms down. We are convinced that he will be ready for the match against Latvia."

The German coach, who is short of options for the No.9 position after Watkins subaequently withdrew, will hope that Kane will be ready to step back into the fold on Tuesday. England, who have maintained a 100 per cent record in the qualifiers, will book their berth in the World Cup next summer if they beat Latvia. 

As of now, the hope is that Kane will start in the important qualifier, however, in case he fails to make the starting lineup, Tuchel could consider a number of options in the centre forward role. In-form Barcelona loanee Marcus Rashford replaced Watkins against Wales, with the Manchester United outcast one possible alternative to operate through the middle in Latvia. 

Other than Rashford, Tuchel could also consider fielding Anthony Gordon or Jarrod Bowen in the central role. At the start of the 2025-26 campaign, Gordon slotted in as the No.9 at Newcastle by Eddie Howe when Alexander Isak was trying to force a transfer out of St James' Park and joining Liverpool. Bowen too has filled that role on a number of occasions at club level for West Ham.

Scarlett graduated from the Spurs academy in 2020 and was promoted to the senior team during the 2020-21 campaign. In 2022, the striker was loaned out to League One club Portsmouth and in the following campaign spent a year at Ipswich Town. Again in the 2024-25 season, Scarlett had  six months on loan at Oxford United in the Championship, but he was called back by Tottenham in January 2025. The 21-year-old appeared in seven matches for Ange Postecoglou's side across all competitions and scored a goal each in the Premier League, Europa League and the FA Cup. He was ultimately part of squad which lifted the Europa League, beating Manchester United in the final.

Scarlett had previously been in the England Under-19 squad that won their European Championship in 2022. He bagged two goals in the tournament and was the team's second highest scorer after former Chelsea star Carney Chukwuemeka.