Soccer

Harry Kane has made his start to life at Bayern Munich look EASY

Harry Kane made his start to life at Bayern look EASY: He’s scored for fun, embraced the culture and looks settled… only injury or an almighty collapse will stop him from finally winning trophies this season

  • Harry Kane has got off to a flying start in Germany at new club Bayern Munich
  • The England captain has scored for fun in Bundesliga since leaving Tottenham 

Harry Kane’s hometown of Chingford, Walthamstow, is only a five-mile journey from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – a place he is now written into folklore.

The club’s all-time top goalscorer was truly ‘one of their own’, having joined the club as an 11-year-old.

After several months of will-he-won’t-he leave saga, Kane became Bayern’s most expensive player in history signing a four-year ÂŁ100million deal – despite only having one year left on his contract at Tottenham.

Now plying his trade 700 miles away from the place he once called home, Kane is just the third Englishman to play for Germany’s most decorated club.

It was a busy August for Kane, who confirmed his deal to the German champions on the 12th, scored on his league debut on the 18th and welcomed his fourth child on the 20th.

Notably stepping out of his comfort zone, Kane has had to adapt to a new way of life abroad.

England skipper Harry Kane has got off to a flying start in Germany at new club Bayern Munich

Kane has been scoring for fun and looks settled in Bavaria following his ÂŁ100million move

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In an interview with ESPN in late September, he said: ‘I’m still in the hotel at the moment, I’m still looking for a house to purchase. Then hopefully I can get my family over as soon as possible’.

KANE’S HOT START TO LIFE IN GERMANY

Bundesliga

Appearances: 8

Goals: 9

Assists: 4

Champions League

Appearances: 2

Goals: 1

Assists: 1

Recent reports have detailed some of his house-hunting activities, with BILD revealing he toured a £29m mansion in Grunwald, known as the ‘Bavarian Beverly Hills’.

Still getting to grips with the language, Kane joked: ‘I have no clue what you are talking about’ when Jamie Carragher attempted to wish him luck in Munich, in broken German for CBS Sports.

He has though, started lessons with a tutor he told ESPN. Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel has experience with English players following his time at Chelsea, whilst attacking team-mates Leroy Sane and dual-nationality Jamal Musiala both speak fluent English.

And Kane is doing his best to get settled into his new culture and surroundings, after he was seen kitted-out in German garments for Oktoberfest. Having netted a hat-trick against Bochum, a club photoshoot showed him wearing lederhosen and eating bratwurst, with a stein to hand.

Bayern fans would have loved this as much as they did his arrival, with BILD reporting the club sold over 10,000 Kane shirts on the day of his arrival.

On the pitch, the striker can be seen in the SKX_01’s after signing a lifetime deal with Sketchers – also in the month of August.


Kane became Bayern’s most expensive player in history signing a four-year £100m deal, with the club selling 10,000 Kane shirts on the day of his arrival (right)

The 30-year-old has made his transition in Germany look effortless as he hunts down titles

So, has it all been a bit too easy for Kane?

The England captain has certainly settled into the team seamlessly and hasn’t missed a beat since swapping the Premier League for the Bundesliga. 

Speaking of what motivated his move to the Bundesliga with Sky Sports, Kane said: ‘A lot of people talk about the trophies and why I came here but ultimately it was to improve.

‘To feel a new pressure of having to win titles every year, having to go far in the Champions League and pushing myself to that limit.

‘If you’re winning games, titles, Champions Leagues and I’m the one playing up front, it more than likely means I’m going to be scoring goals and that allows you to win other individual awards.’

And score more he has. A club record nine goals from his first eight Bundesliga games. In comparison, his Premier League high for the opening eight match weeks was seven in 2020-21.

Only Lautaro Martinez (11) and, Stuttgart sensation Serhou Guirassy (14) have scored more than Kane across Europe’s top five leagues.

Kane has also embraced the culture and is seen here at the 188th edition of Oktoberfest


The Englishman poses in a traditional Bavarian outfit at Nockherberg back in August

Kane not only scores, but is a multi-threat based on his ability to drop deep and find his team-mates with pinpoint accuracy. This was on display during the Bochum game, where he provided a through-ball assist from his own half for Leroy Sane.

Against Bochum, Kane joined a short list by becoming the fourth Englishman to score a hat-trick in the German top flight.

Another man on that list, Kevin Keegan, won two Ballon d’Ors at then Bundesliga club Hamburg SV during his time in Germany. Should Kane continue in his current free-scoring form and win major honours for club and perhaps country, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be in that conversation for individual prizes such as those.

Bayern’s squad as a whole is strong enough to challenge the likes of Manchester City for the Champions League, while league titles come as an expectancy in Germany.

Their fans are used to success, winning 11 successive league titles, and so understandably the pressure is great to win.

Kane has nine goals in eight Bundesliga matches so far, including a hat-trick vs Bochum

Speaking in a press conference on international duties, Kane said: ‘We wanted to win at Spurs, but if you went a couple games without winning it wasn’t a disaster.

‘At Bayern you have to win every game. After winning 3-1 and 4-0 in our first two games, there was talk about not being too happy about the way we played! Top club mentality.’

Kane also wears Bayern’s famous No 9 shirt, previously worn by Bundesliga’s all-time top scorer Gerd Muller and recently by Robert Lewandowski, who has the highest scoring season in Bundesliga history.

Despite already having illustrious scoring records to his name, to compete with the legendary No 9s of the past Kane will have to continue his form to near Muller’s personal record of 40 goals in the league season, or perhaps Lewandowski’s all-time record of 41 in a singular Bundesliga season.

His start to life at Bayern has looked effortless thus far and only injury or an almighty collapse from Tuchel and Co’s side will prevent him from doing so

As many records as he may set, surely Kane will be most proud to bolster his footballing resume by finally adding silverware to his haul of golden boots and other individual trophies.

Owen Hargreaves, an Englishman at Bayern before him, achieved four league titles, three DFB cups and a Champions League in his seven years with the Bavarians.

Despite missing out on silverware on his debut – which saw Bayern lose to Leipzig in Germany’s Community Shield equivalent – the England captain will surely go on to end his hunt to win the first trophy of his career.

His start to life at Bayern has looked effortless thus far and only injury or an almighty collapse from Tuchel and Co’s side will prevent him from doing so.

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify

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