Asked to nominate his dream strike partner past or present, Wayne Rooney settled on the name of Alan Shearer. It is easy to visualise them together, those barn-storming runs of Shearer and the clever link-up play from Rooney alongside him. In the No 9 and 10 shirts of England, they would have been lethal. ‘I admired Alan Shearer when I was growing up,’ admitted Rooney, as he prepares to lead England out for a prestige friendly against Italy in the Juventus Stadium on Tuesday night. Alan Shearer is the England striker Wayne Rooney would love to have joined up front for his country . Former Newcastle striker Shearer celebrates his goal against Luxembourg at Wembley in 2000 . ‘I loved the way he played and he was a real goalscorer, as his record shows. I would have worked well with him as a strike partner.’ Shearer scored 30 in 63 appearances for England, seducing a young Rooney at a time when he was still making his way through Everton’s centre of excellence. Partnering them together is the stuff of fantasy, but there will be a dose of reality when Harry Kane is added to an exhaustive list of forwards Rooney has played with since his debut against Australia in 2003. Shearer celebrates with Manchester United legend Paul Scholes after his goal against Scotland . James Beattie also played his first game for England that night — with Rooney’s partners down the years also including Michael Owen, Darius Vassell, Andrew Johnson, Daniel Sturridge, Peter Crouch and Theo Walcott. It is a mixed bag. So what does Rooney, who scored his 47th goal for his country in the 4-0 rout of Lithuania on Friday evening, look for in a partner? ‘I’ve played with a lot of different players with different qualities and I’ve adapted to every player,’ added Rooney. ‘With Michael Owen I was deeper, leaving Michael to run behind, and with Emile Heskey I tried to stay close — he’s a big lad who can hold the ball up.’ Rooney played deeper when Michael Owen was in the England team beside him . Rooney tried to stay close to Emile Heskey when the pair played in the same Three Lions line-up . Wayne Rooney celebrates after scoring against Lithuania in the Euro 2016 qualifier at Wembley on Friday . Hodgson has been forced to change his system in the absence of Raheem Sterling and Danny Welbeck . Rooney scores from the spot at Wembley Stadium in the Euro 2016 Group E Qualifier against Slovenia . Rooney scores during the UEFA Euro 2004, Group B match between Croatia and England at the Luz Stadium . Jay Rodriguez and Rooney were in the team to play Chile in a friendly at Wembley in November 2013 . Peter Crouch (centre), at the 2006 World Cup, last played for England in 2010 . A young Rooney training beside Darius Vassell ahead of facing Turkey in 2003 . Rooney congratulates Jermain Defoe (No 23) after his goal against Slovenia at Wembley in 2009 . For all manner of reasons, including the absence of Danny Welbeck and Raheem Sterling, Hodgson has been forced to change his system for this game against Italy. Rooney will be at the tip of the diamond, the man responsible for threading those intuitive balls across the box for Kane, or to split Italy’s sweeper system by using the pace of Walcott to get behind them. Gary Neville laughs with England players including Phil Jones and Rooney during a team stadium visit a . Debutant Harry Kane celebrates his maiden England goal in Friday's 4-0 win over Lithuania . Kane is expected to gain his first England start during the international friendly match against Italy . ‘I’m probably as excited about Harry Kane as everyone in the country,’ admitted Rooney. ‘He’s had an unbelievable season. I’ve seen the comparisons out there but Harry is his own player. He’s good in the air and can shoot with both feet. ‘He’s taking the ball and running at players, which is great to see. At the moment he’s very confident to score. ‘There were questions going into the season about where he would play for Tottenham because he was starting Europa League games, but not the Premier League. He gave his manager no option but to play him and he’s not looked back. ‘After scoring his goal on Friday I bet he can’t wait to get out on the pitch and try to score another goal.’ Rooney is back for more, testing himself against the Italians again as he faces them for the first time since England’s 2-1 defeat in the opening game of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He spoke yesterday of their uncompromising tactics over the years, but the England captain is also a big admirer of the football played here, particularly when Fiorentina boasted the Argentine forward Gabriel Batistuta. Rooney admitted he is a big admirer of former Argentina and Fiorentina ace Gabriel Batistuta . ‘It’s a passionate country and they love their football,’ added Rooney. ‘They are probably the closest in Europe to South American teams. They’ll do anything to stop you. They’re tough to play against, organised, (and) make it as difficult to play against as possible. They’re the best in Europe at doing that. ‘I’ve never thought about playing in Italy but growing up I watched Italian football. They had some great teams like Juventus and AC Milan and I loved to watch Fiorentina because I loved Batistuta.’ The Argentine — fondly known as Batigol — is one of the game’s greats, also playing for Roma and Inter Milan during his 12-year spell in Italy. The Argentine is one of the game’s greats, also playing for Roma and Inter Milan 12-year spell in Italy . This is Rooney’s year for England, growing into the role of captain for club and country. These days he speaks with increasing maturity and conviction. Here in Turin, as the questions fizzed around over Ross Barkley’s startling dip in form, Rooney recalled a conversation he once had with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when he was named as a substitute at Manchester United. Ross Barkley burst onto the scene, but his form this season has failed to live up to expectation . ‘With Everton they hit the heights last season, but he hasn’t done as well and the team hasn’t done as well recently,’ added the England captain. ‘I spoke to him after the game on Friday night and the only advice I gave him was to watch the game from the bench with England. He will know how to get into the opposition, where the spaces are. ‘That’s what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said to me when I was young, so you know where to be when you come on. If it helps, then great.’
Wayne Rooney nominated Alan Shearer as his dream strike partner . Rooney feels he would have worked well in attack with ex-Newcastle ace . Shearer scored 30 goals in 63 international appearances for England . Rooney is preparing to take on Italy in a prestige friendly in Turin .