It wouldn’t be outrageous to say that the Player of the Year award at Bayern Munich can be correctly predicted at the start of February. Harry Kane will certainly lift this award at Die Roten as he continues to shatter goalscoring records every week.
The English forward has seamlessly adapted to the Bundesliga since joining Bayern last summer. Kane has shown incredible consistency in the final third this season, scoring 24 goals in 20 league games. The 30-year-old striker is well poised to break Robert Lewandowski’s record of scoring most goals in a single Bundesliga campaign.
Along with contributing with goals, Kane’s linkup play has also benefitted other forwards at Die Roten. Leroy Sane has formed a deadly partnership with Kane in the final third. The former Tottenham Hotspur striker has provided five assists in the Bundesliga this season.
Despite breaking all sorts of scoring records, Kane is firmly focussing on the bigger reward. The England international is yet to win a major trophy at the club level. While talking to BBC this week, Kane admitted that he is hopeful about winning trophies at Bayern. He is hoping to strengthen the chance of Die Roten’s chance to retain the Bundesliga title by scoring against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
""I've made it clear that I want to be winning team trophies and that's one of the things that's missing from my career so far. But as always I'm not going to panic, either way I'm going to keep my head down, keep doing my best for the team and hopefully that starts with a good win on Saturday.""Harry Kane
Bayern are currently second in the Bundesliga, two points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen. The two teams meet each other at Bay Arena on Saturday. The outcome of this game will have huge ramifications on the title race.
Kane will have a big role to play in this game. Thomas Tuchel may look to beat Leverkusen on the counter-attacks since Leverkusen is expected to dominate possession at home. The English striker can drop deep and find the runs of other forwards with pinpoint accuracy. He has been on the scoresheet almost every weekend this season, which makes him the player to watch in this clash.
Apart from Bundesliga, Bayern are also well-poised in the Champions League. They will face Lazio next week in the first leg of the round of 16 stage. Die Roten have struggled to go deep in the competition since lifting the trophy in 2020. The Bavarian faithful will hope Kane gives them the necessary edge to go all the way in the competition.
Bayern have received more positive news in terms of squad personnel for the game against Bayer Leverkusen. Kim Min-jae is back at Sabner Strasse after South Korea was knocked out of the Asian Cup. He will be available for selection. Manuel Neuer is a doubt for this game due to knee problems, but he was spotted on the pitch at Sabner Strasse on Thursday. The German goalkeeper will most likely resume first-team training on Friday.