Meet England's new tallest striker who towers over Peter Crouch at just 18 years old

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England’s new tallest striker is even taller than Peter Crouch at the mere age of 18. For much of his impressive career between 2000 and 2019, former striker Crouch was one of the tallest outfield players in the country.

Showing incredible technique despite his 6ft7in frame and ultra-slim body type, the now popular podcaster and TNT Sports pundit enjoyed stints for the likes of Southampton , Portsmouth, Aston Villa , Liverpool , Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke City , even earning 42 England caps.

Yet, until recently, a lower leagues player named Kyle Hudlin had taken over the mantle as England’s tallest striker, standing at an astonishing 6ft9in. The 25-year-old centre-forward began his career at Solihull before playing for National League outfit Solihull Moors.

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After that, he was loaned out to Huddersfield Town’s U21s, AFC Wimbledon, Burton Albion and Newport County. At the beginning of this season, Hudlin made a bold permanent move to Vietnamese top flight side Nam Dinh FC.

Despite towering over his opponents, he has zero goals and one assist to his name in five appearances so far, with his team sitting ninth in the table. And now that he no longer plays football in England, another player has succeeded Hudlin as the tallest striker back home.

Introducing Nelson Eze, an 18-year-old currently playing for Ipswich Town’s U18s. Eze stands at a whopping 6ft9in already despite being a teenager and still having plenty of time to grow even further.

He joined Ipswich from Norwich City in 2023 and signed his first professional deal at Portman Road in December 2024. Eze enjoyed a one-month loan move to Dartford in the Isthmian League Premier Division recently before returning to The Tractor Boys.

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Speaking after his Dartford debut, his manager Adrian Pennock said: "I thought he did really well. He had only met his team-mates prior to kick-off and didn't know how we played, but we have a great dressing room.

"It was a good debut for him, especially coming on in a difficult game, but I'm sure he learnt a lot. We're very pleased to have him on board and to be involved in a win with us straight away is a great start."

Eze has played football across the U18s Premier League , FA Youth Cup, Premier League 2 and the Premier League Cup this season. Defenders everywhere will be hoping for a stop to his growth spurt, lest he reaches 7ft and becomes an unstoppable presence in the air.

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Despite always sticking out and sometimes being mocked for his height , especially in his younger days, cult hero Crouch, now 45, insisted post-retirement that he wouldn’t change being tall for anything, even if he had the choice.

He previously said: "I wouldn’t change it for the world . That is me. I have always been a head above everyone else. People find it interesting, but for me it is just who I am. Being different and standing out is all I’ve ever known. It is easier now I’m older – but as a teenager it can be hard being different.

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