London: Harry Kane`s brilliant form has put him in the frame for his first senior England call-up but the young Tottenham Hotspur striker could still be caught in the middle of a tug-of-war between his club and the England under-21 side this summer.
England manager Roy Hodgson, who said last week that Kane was not guaranteed a place in his next squad despite enjoying an excellent season, was in the stands to see the 21-year-old score both goals in Tottenham`s 2-1 win at Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.
Kane`s brace took his goal tally to 16 in the Premier League, one behind league-leading goalscorers Sergio Aguero and Diego Costa, and to 26 in all competitions this season.
His goalscoring exploits have led to increasing calls for Kane to be handed his first senior cap.
England under-21 manager Stuart Pearce says he "thoroughly deserves" a place in Hodgson`s next squad for the Euro 2016 qualifier against Lithuania at Wembley on Mar. 27 but still wants the Spurs man to be available for the European under-21 Championships this summer.
This is at odds with the view of Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino, who says Kane would benefit from a rest this summer and plans to talk to the English Football Association about the use of the player.
"The message coming out of his [Kane`s] mouth at the moment is suggesting that he wants to go to the under-21 tournament," Pearce told the BBC.
"Personally, and I`ve championed this all along, I think the key to the senior squad being successful is to make sure we win trophies at the younger age group. The only way you do that is you take your strongest possible squad to the under-21 and the under-19 tournaments."
Kane said that he would love the opportunity to make his England debut after his virtuoso performance at QPR, where he became the first Spurs player to score in six consecutive Premier League away games.
Pearce believes that the under-21 tournament in the Czech Republic will be key to the striker`s development and dismissed the notion that he should be rested.
"If you want to put a good argument against it -- Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo -- they don`t rest these players. They play every game," said Pearce.
"I never, ever hear either of the players suggesting that they want to miss an Olympics or a World Cup."
