Kane in the running as Ballon d'Or vote nears its close

Harry Kane is in contention to become the first Englishman to take the Ballon d'Or since 2001, according to Sky Sports. Four players from England have won it before: Matthews in 1956, Sir Bobby Charlton in 1966, Keegan in 1978 and 1979, and Michael Owen in 2001.

Former England striker Alan Shearer said the award should go to Kane. Ex-England midfielder Danny Murphy said his choice is Kane, while former England striker Ellen White said she would love to see him win it.

Former Tottenham and Crystal Palace forward Andros Townsend backed Kane after a season in which the striker found the net 73 times in 65 games, 36 of them in the Bundesliga. Townsend added that Kane struck 14 goals in the Champions League as Bayern Munich reached the semi-finals, and six at the World Cup as England got to the last four.

Not every voice points to Kane. European football expert Guillem Balague said Lamine Yamal is going to win it. Rory Smith, an Athletic reporter speaking as a guest on BBC Radio 5 Live, said the prize will probably go to Yamal because it generally goes to someone who has won the biggest trophy.

Kane and Yamal have traded places as favourites for this year's prize, which Sky Sports says suggests the voting will be extremely close. Each juror choose 10 players from the 30-player shortlist, with the selections earning 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 points. If two players finish level on points, the number of first-place votes decides the outcome.

Ousmane Dembele is the reigning winner, and the prize has gone to a different player in each of the last four editions, with Rodri, Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema also taking the golden ball in that run. Messi holds the record with eight wins, five clear of Cristiano Ronaldo.