Occasionally footballers emerge who break the mould. Ironically, for one player who turned up to his first trial for Spurs as a goalkeeper, Harry Kane is that man for the Three Lions. Another, for the Lionesses, a player banned from playing at 9 years old, is goal-scorer extraordinaire for the Lionesses, Ellen White.
Over the course of their remarkable careers, both Kane and White have re-written the record books and achieved every kids’ dream of becoming the leading goal-scorers for their country. The pair now sit loftily and alone, breathing the rarefied air that few others get the opportunity to share.
Thomas Lyte, a Royal Warrant holder as silversmiths and goldsmiths to The Late Queen Elizabeth II, have a long-established association with excellence, so we naturally took enormous pride in hand-crafting two Golden Boots to mark the achievements of both players.
White broke first with a hat-trick in a record 20-0 defeat of Latvia in December 2021, taking her sailing past the previous tally of 46 set by Kelly Smith. She would retire following England’s epic triumph in Euro 2022, with 52 Lionesses’ goals to her name.
Kane, meanwhile, finally beat the England goalscoring record, previously held by Wayne Rooney, in March 2023. He scored a decisive penalty against Italy in Naples to take him past the former mark of 53 set by Rooney during his own extraordinary international career. Given his scoring rate and his relatively young age, it’s quite possible that Kane could retire with a goal haul that may not be passed for a considerable period of time.
Both are clearly unique generational talents – and both are now deserving recipients of similarly unique mementos to celebrate their landmark achievements.
A stunning feat deserves an equally striking commemoration. And Thomas Lyte’s team of master goldsmiths and silversmiths are delighted to have designed and handcrafted two identical Golden Boots.
One was presented to Kane at Wembley before England’s Euro 2024 Qualifying match against Ukraine. Kane’s on-pitch award took place as his two daughters looked-on – their dad celebrating the fulfilment of his own childhood sporting dreams. The Boot will doubtless take its place alongside the Golden Boot Kane won at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, when he emulated the feat of Gary Lineker in Mexico 1986 and finished as the tournament’s leading goalscorer.
White received hers at half-time in the Finalissima between the Lionesses and Brazil in April 2023, a game England fittingly won in thrilling fashion, lifting yet another trophy.
The Boots themselves are perfect replicas of the Nike Phantom GT II Elite in gold, providing England’s all-time top goal-scorers with a fitting keepsake for their un-matched national service.
For a footballer who experienced life on loan in the lower leagues with the likes of Leyton Orient during his youth, Kane’s route to the top hasn’t always been plain sailing. But he’s a striking role model in every sense. The same can be said of White, who has witnessed the almost complete transformation of the women’s game since making her debut for Chelsea while still a teenager in 2005. She made her England debut in March 2010 and immediately opened her Lionesses’ account with a goal in the final minute of a 3-0 home waltz against Austria. White, like the rest of the nation, could never have foreseen what would follow over the intervening 12 years, with the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 triumph the crowning glory of her international career.
Embodying many of the qualities that we cherish here at Thomas Lyte, Kane and White’s appetite for success has been fuelled by a simple hunger for that most precious footballing commodity. Goals.
Kane famously scored his first for England after being on the pitch for just 79 seconds against Lithuania in 2015. Years of hard work would follow as he climbed England’s goalscoring chart and ultimately reached and passed the targets set by Lineker, Bobby Charlton and Rooney – three of English football’s most revered names.
Topping their eventual England tallies would be an incredible feat for whichever strikers follow in their mighty footsteps.
