"Unemployed at 33: Harry Kane's Ex-Teammate Reflects on Missed Opportunity with Rashford at Man Utd"

ENGLAND youth star, Harry Kane’s strike partner and the next young forward on Manchester United’s conveyor belt – things could not have been much better for Will Keane in early 2012.

But soon afterwards there was a fork in the road, with Kane going one way and Keane the other.

Will Keane (right) was billed as a future first-team star at Manchester United Credit: AFP Keane is currently unemployed after spending part of last season on loan at Reading Credit: Getty

Kane, 32, is now ‘s record goal-scorer who will captain the side in a blockbuster World Cup semi-final showdown with .

Keane, 33, is spending the next few weeks in a PFA pre-season camp laid on to help unemployed players find new clubs.

The two centre-forwards played together in an England Under-19s Euros qualifier against in May that year.

Days later, Keane suffered a serious knee injury which sidelined him for 16 months.

He told BBC Sport : “I made my senior debut [for United]. We won the Youth Cup. I was doing well for England. Everything was taking off.

“That first injury was at a crucial time. I had my foot in the door. The feeling was I would probably have been around the first team.

“If the injury had happened a couple of years later, I might have been an established squad player.”

Keane grafted his way back to fitness, gained experience out on loan and was once again knocking on the door of the United first team by early 2016.

Keane and Harry Kane played up front together for England Under-19s Credit: Getty Marcus Rashford’s breakthrough spelled the end for Keane at Old Trafford Credit: AFP or licensors Keane played the best football of his career at Wigan Credit: Getty

But, in another brutal blow, he tore his groin, opening the door for to get a run in the senior side.

Rashford scored four goals in his first two games, which Keane admits was like a dagger to the heart.

He recalled: “I went to America for an operation, landed in Philadelphia, turned my phone on and saw he scored two more.

“It was hard to take, but I had to move on.”

Keane did move on, bouncing around the second and third tiers before finding a home at Wigan, where he played the best of his career between 2020 and 2023.

The Stockport-born striker, whose twin brother is Premier League stalwart , spent part of last season on loan at Reading before his Preston contract expired.

Now, he is having “a few chats” with interested clubs and hopes things will “open up” once the season starts.

The past few weeks have given Keane the chance to watch former partner in crime Kane at the World Cup and reflect on what has made him so successful.

He said: “I remember when we were young, people said he wasn’t mobile but technically, the time he put into his finishing and his obsessiveness to be the best in terms of shooting, you see it don’t you?

“He’s so sure of himself, because he’s put the work in. He knows he’s a complete striker. He’s obviously got that belief in himself. If he didn’t have certainty in his mind, he wouldn’t be as prolific.”