Which players will fit best around Harry Kane?
It still feels alien talking about it, but he is here. Harry Kane has arrived in Germany as a Bayern Munich player.
El Sistema
Harry Kane is a striker that demands the ball. Kane’s ability to drop between the lines and dictate play in the final third from advanced positions is unmatched amongst strikers in world football today. It would be criminal not to use this, especially given that Bayern’s current crop of wingers is far more accomplished at goalscoring than at creating chances. For the sake of simplicity we will assume the midfield and defense are set in their current ways, with a double pivot and wing backs who look to overlap with the wide attackers.
Die Proposal
With the wing-backs overlapping and a double pivot to screen, the three attackers behind Kane will have license to roam in the inside and half-spaces, linking up close to each other and running in behind Kane if he drops into space. The wide men need to be players who are quick, good in tight spaces and have the tenacity to run between defenders awaiting a final ball. The player in the middle would function as a third midfielder at times, dropping deep to pick up the ball and entice opposition midfielders out of position, but should have the ability to find pockets in the area, essentially acting as a shadow striker.
Luckily for us, we have an abundance of quick wingers and we have one Raumdeuter.
The system I have in mind consists of Jamal Musiala on the left, Thomas Müller through the middle and Leroy Sané on the right (or alternatively, Sané on the left and Serge Gnabry on the right). Sané and Musiala are gifted footballers who love running at defenses from the half-spaces, and specialise in creating chances through quick exchanges. They are perfect for these roles. So too is Müller, who has shown his ability to play as an advanced midfielder time and time again throughout his storied career, but will not lose his attacking edge as the extra man in the box behind Kane. Gnabry too has regained his bursts of pace as of late in a form renaissance, becoming Bayern’s primary goal threat prior to Kane’s acquisition.
While I love a Julian Nagelsmann-esque system with positional changes and timed overloads, sometimes it really just is that simple. Wing-backs in the wide space, inside forwards in the half-spaces, and two men through the middle. Occam’s razor.
