Many Bayern Munich fans have noticed that Harry Kane has been playing in a deeper role in certain games this season. This means he might not be available in the box when certain players cross the ball or pass it from the by-line into the box. When he sat down with the Bundesliga’s official website for an interview, considering Kane’s different roles, this question was put to him: “Your position at Bayern isn’t quite as a true number nine, but you’re not a false nine either. How would you describe
it?”
Kane mentioned that it all came down to the plan: “It’s probably down to the system that we play and the way the coach likes to use his nine and ten. There have been games this year where you’ve seen me drop a lot deeper than usual.” He acknowledged he might be found where a number nine is usually not found: “Even the way we play without the ball and how we drop, you might see me playing almost as a holding midfielder or as a centre-back, and this might make it seem a bit more extreme than it actually is.”
He acknowledges that there is a method to the madness: “There is a structure to what we do, but I feel like I’m really enjoying the role and I’m enjoying the freedom of being able to get on the ball a little bit more and not just be the number nine.” He is not quite able to pin down the role himself (Raumdeuter, anyone?) but he enjoys it: “I wouldn’t be able to say what the role is because it is probably a new hybrid role that we are seeing, but I am loving it.”
The captain of England feels that he can help defensively in this role as well: “Defensively, I feel like I can help the team a lot with tackling and blocking and clearances, and you have seen a bit of that all season.”
From what Kane mentions, fans should get used to finding him in different places: “From now until the end of the season, there will be certain games where it will happen a lot and I will be dropping deep, and there will be other games where I am higher.” Finally, Kane adds that it depends on who he is playing with: “This depends a lot on who the other attacking midfielder is as well, so we will see how that evolves from now until the end of the season.”
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So, Bayern’s record transfer signing is a six, an eight, a nine and a ten — what more can you ask for?
