Harry Kane explains how dropping deep powered his record 73-goal season

Kane on playing like a midfielder to score more goals

Harry Kane is one of the leading names in the race for this year's Ballon d'Or after scoring 73 goals last season for club and country. The 33-year-old says his evolution into a deeper, more complete role is key to that tally.

"Until you really understand football and understand what we've been talking about, it's so easy to say 'stay high, you're going to score' but it doesn't work like that," Kane said when asked about the paradox of scoring more while dropping deeper.

Physical demands rising with the deeper role

With only five days of pre-season training under his belt, Kane completed 90 minutes of Bayern's 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund to lift the German Super Cup. Data from STATSports, a company Kane has invested in, shows his distance covered, high-speed running and accelerations were up 8%, 22% and 42% respectively across the past six seasons.

"Over the last five or six years, man-to-man pressure has become bigger," Kane said. "European football is physical and top teams are trying to win the ball back high, trusting their defenders and midfielders to defend man for man to win their battles."

Cerebral dribbling and micro-adjustments

Against Dortmund, Kane dropped deep to arrive in space unmarked, drawing two opponents. He used strength to shrug off centre-back Waldemar Anton, then made a subtle body adjustment to the right. The feint wrong-footed Daniel Svensson and Jobe Bellingham as Kane snapped the ball back the other way, opening the pitch from Bayern's half.

Bayern boss Vincent Kompany has described the role as 50% coached and 50% Kane deciding what to do. "I think it's partly instinct, using my football brain and getting the feeling on the pitch," Kane said. "If, for example, I want to drop and see if the centre-back really wants to commit, he might commit into midfield, but is he going to commit if I drop all the way to my box? After the first five or ten minutes you really get an understanding of how the opposition are going to play, which dictates how I play."

Creating overloads and space for teammates

In the second minute against Arsenal, Kane dropped into a centre-back zone and was followed by William Saliba, vacating space higher up. Kane now sees his position as one of two 10s in a front two.

"You can double up on one side to overload, which causes the opposition centre-backs a problem of who to mark. If they want to mark both, they've got to go man-to-man and then that leaves space for our wingers or full-backs to run into," he said. "It's posing all these questions to the opposition but, personally, I love having someone close to me who I can link with."

Kane contrasted the lone number nine role with his current set-up: "When you're the number nine on your own you can get marked by two centre-backs and you struggle to get touches on the ball. You're relying on everyone else to find you with the ball."

Clips that show the unseen work

Analysing last season's clips, Kane highlighted a sequence with Luis Diaz playing as one of the 10s. Dropping off created space for Diaz to run central, pulling an opposition midfielder toward him and allowing Joshua Kimmich to play through to Diaz. "I think it's Serge Gnabry making the run in behind which takes the defenders back, which allows me and Lucho that space in between. Lucho lays it off and whenever I'm in that position, around 20-25 yards out, I'm always looking if I can get my shot off."

He added: "By playing deep when the play develops, I end up coming into a number 10 spot when everyone's dropped. I can get shots off from the edge of the box, which is a big strength of mine, or I'm running off the back of players where no-one's picking me up - because the midfielder finds it hard to [track]."

From Bayern's Champions League tie against Club Brugge, where Brugge used a holding midfielder to mark him, Kane explained how he manipulated the marking to free Jamal Musiala and Lennart Karl. "These are the little runs, again, not everyone sees. With Jamal Musiala and Lenny, they're so good at receiving the ball and dribbling so there'll be times where I will actually stay higher and let those guys get on the ball a bit deeper, and I'll try and make runs in behind."

"As soon as Lenny gets in that pocket I make the run and not always to get the ball, sometimes it is just to drag the defender away. Now he's one-against-one with a centre-back in the middle of the pitch and that's..."

Kane's style mirrors his personality - well-rounded and humble - and his professionalism is evident in training. The England record goalscorer is often first on the pitch, watching younger players while in conversation with staff, a sight that can make him look like a coach himself.