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Harry Kane will be part of England Under-21s’ assault on the European Championship finals this summer.

Coach Gareth Southgate has confirmed England’s man-of-the-moment is a key part of his line-up, no matter how many more goals he grabs for England seniors against Italy, or his club, Tottenham.

The U-21s play fellow finalists Germany in Middlesbrough on Monday night in a vital part of their preparations for the tournament in the Czech Republic in June.

Kane could get his first start for England's senior side against Italy in Turin on Tuesday, after scoring 79 seconds after coming off the bench in Friday's 4-0 win Lithuania.

Southgate says Spurs striker Kane will be there because he’ll learn more from the tournament than he will from being involved in the senior team’s end-of-season games - a friendly with the Republic of Ireland and a qualifier against Slovenia.

He believes Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino will also be happy to release his top scorer to the U21s, because he understands how important international football is from his own playing career.

Asked if Kane would now be permanently with the senior squad, ex-England defender Southgate said: “No. Roy feels that the experience of going to the Czech Republic will be more beneficial to the two games he has got [with the senior side].

(Image: Reuters)

“We are not short of good players in the seniors either, but understandably for Harry to be there this time, on form, was merited. But we still feel we can give the players the best possible preparation to go into the seniors if they have the experience of the European Championship in the summer. That is still the case with him.”

Kane may feel his future is with the seniors, but Southgate said: “I put a montage on for the players today of the previous tournament. People like Marco Verratti and Isco played, who have really come even more to prominence since.

“I don’t think any of our guys are bigger than those two in terms of where they are at this moment. It is another stage for them to test themselves against the very best.”

Southgate is confident there will be no row with Pochettino over Kane’s summer task. He added: “I have a good relationship with Mauricio. He would never deny his players the opportunity because he was so proud to do it himself.”