Kane was speaking with Archie Rhind-Tutt and Thomas Hitzlsperger after his side’s sixth win from six games in the Bundesliga this season. Rhind-Tutt asked the 32-year-old about his role within the team, suggesting that Kane was becoming even more involved in Bayern’s build-up.
The ex-Spurs striker agreed with the assertion, suggesting the lack of an out-and-out No.10, a role previously filled by the departed Thomas Muller or injured Jamal Musiala has facilitated the change. Kane suggested his deeper role has actually helped with his goalscoring, as he’s able to disengage with centre-backs who can keep closer attention to him when he’s trying to occupy the defensive line.
He said: “I’ve spoken already about when Jamal’s playing it’s a little bit different. Jamal is such a good player, getting the ball off defenders, driving and dribbling.
“Obviously a lot last year when we were playing together, it was better for him to go and do that. I still did that at times.
“I think since me and Serge [Gnabry], and me and Nico [Jackson] have been forming that partnership this season, it’s allowed me to just be a little bit deeper and use my qualities in that sense of turning and playing it forward and playing it out wide, and then arriving into the box a little bit later.
“Which also helps. Sometimes when you’re playing up there as a nine, it’s easy to be marked, to be marked out of the game almost. Even my goal today, arriving a little bit late, I finished it off.”
As Kane alluded to in the interview, his goal against Frankfurt demonstrated his new role in the team perfectly. Joshua Kimmich played the ball forward into Luis Diaz, who drifted into the No.9 position ahead of Kane; in fact out of Bayern’s front four the Englishman was by far the deepest, as Serge Gnabry and Michael Olise pinned back the host’s defensive line. As Diaz’ path to goal was screened off, he shifted the ball to Kane, who stepped forward, pushed the ball out of his feet and arrowed a long-range effort into the bottom corner of Kevin Trapp’s goal.
While Kane did start the game as the lone striker, Vincent Kompany has explicitly positioned him in a second striker role at times this year, most notably against Cypriot side Pafos when the 32-year-old operated behind Nicolas Jackson in the hole. Both men scored in a 5-0 win, Kane finding the back of the net twice.
It shows that dropping deep certainly has not diminished his goal scoring prowess. He’s bagged 18 goals in 10 appearances across all competitions in 2025-26, a staggering return considering his propensity to join with the build-up. It has propelled Bayern to a truly ominous record of six wins from six in the Bundesliga. The Bavarian giants have scored 25 goals in the league, conceding just three in return.
Musiala’s broken leg, sustained in the Club World Cup, was supposed to spark a crisis for the Bavarian side. Without the young German and his experienced mentor Muller, it seemed the number 10 role was going to be a serious problem for Kompany’s side, especially when Florian Wirtz and Nick Woltemade spurned the club’s advances in favour of moves to the Premier League.
Kane’s emergence as a playmaker/striker has quashed all fears, and Bayern look set to win this year’s iteration of the Bundesliga at an absolute canter. Musiala is currently slated to return in the new year, and while his presence will undoubtedly give his team-mates a lift, he might find himself operating off the left or slowly rotated back into the starting XI to allow Kane the freedom he so clearly enjoys.
Kompany did have to replace Kane in the final moments of Saturday’s game. However, the England captain announced the suspected ankle injury will not keep him from representing his country in England’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers..
