Exclusive – Jamie Carragher: It will be a long time before England replace Michael Owen

Liverpool star Jamie Carragher has told talkSPORT that it will be a long time before England replace Michael Owen’s goal scoring ability.

The striker will retire from football at the end of the season, but will be fondly remembered for his exploits in front of goal for the Three Lions in international competitions.

The 33-year-old netted 40 goals in and England shirt across 89 games making him the fourth highest scorer in history for his country.

And his former Liverpool team-mate, Carragher, believes a striker with the natural talent Owen had will not be found anytime soon.

He told Drive Time: “I think if you just look at what he did for Liverpool. He was a great player for Liverpool, there is no doubt about that.

“And, if you’re just judging him on his England career, [he scored] 40 goals in 89 appearances and it’ll probably be a long time before England get a striker who has that type of record."

But Carragher admits Owen cannot be called an England great because of the team’s failure to compete at World Cups and European Championships in recent years.

He added: “I think it’s difficult with England to call someone a great because we haven’t been that successful in the last ten or 15 years.

“The only players you should be calling great are the players from 1966 [who won the World Cup], but Owen has had a good England career and no one can take that away from him.”