How Harry Kane has changed dramatically as a striker since moving to Bayern Munich
The England international has completed changed how he plays as a goalscorer since slotting into Thomas Tuchel's system at Bayern Munich.
Harry Kane didn’t have to do an awful lot to put Bayern Munich in front on Saturday. After a lofted cross from Leon Goretzka was challenged in the air by Thomas Müller, Borussia Mönchengladbach keeper Moritz Nicolas fumbled the ball right into the path of the England striker. Then, with a simple jerk of his neck, Kane headed the ball home.
Of course, there was much more to it than that. Kane still had a fair amount of work to do in lifting his head over two Gladbach defenders and, as we’ve seen countless times this season for Bayern, the 30-year-old striker always seems to know where to stand at the right time. It was a perfect poacher’s goal. And in many ways a goal that perhaps encapsulates Kane’s time in the Bundesliga.
When Kane first signed for Bayern, he was considered to not only be the natural successor to Robert Lewandowski’s reign as the classic No.9 but also a modern striker that offered so much more. He could tussle with defenders, exploit spaces in the box and ultimately stick the ball in the back of the net like the Polish striker, but Kane was also supposed to bring an extra dimension to Bayern’s attack. He was one of the best strikers in the world and then some, which is exactly why Bayern had to spend so much money on him. Or at least that’s how the story was spun at the time.
On paper, Kane has done exactly that. And with 28 goals and eight assists in 27 games, he’s undoubtedly putting up the kind of numbers that would make Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo blush. But the more we see of Kane in a Bayern shirt, the more we find ourselves watching a striker that seems to be nustling back into his comfort zone, sticking to what he does best and in turn removing some of the additional strings to the very bow Bayern worked so hard to buy. In an intriguing turn of events, Kane arrived at Bayern as the complete forward, capable of just about anything, but now seems to be retreating back into the more familiar role of poacher.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Gegenpressing Newsletter to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.