“The Toni Kroos position of the centre-forward”: Mats Hummels discusses Harry Kane’s style of play and sees it as a problem for Bayern Munich
World Cup winner Mats Hummels is critical of one crucial aspect of the way Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane plays.
"I think we're going through a phase where he's playing as a centre-forward a little too little. I'd like him to be in the box a bit more again," Hummels said ahead of Bayern Munich's Champions League match at Atletico Madrid on Tuesday evening while working as a TV pundit for Prime Video.
For Hummels, Kane has been dropping deep particularly often this season, driving Bayern's play from the number 10 position or even further back. "He hasn't had many chances to score because he isn't right at the tip of the attack. Maybe that's because he's spending a lot of time roaming around midfield," Hummels explained.
Kane's scoring rate has dipped from last season's extraordinary level. He scored 61 goals in 51 competitive appearances in 2025/26 but has "only" ten in 14 so far in 2026/27. His creative output has gone the other way: he has already provided eight assists this season, compared with seven throughout the whole of last season.
Why does Mats Hummels want Harry Kane in the box more often?
Even so, Hummels is full of praise for Kane's overall play. "He does it brilliantly, like hardly anyone else," the 37-year-old said. He added: "As a fan of a centre-forward of his quality, with his finishing ability, I'd like to see him in the box more often again. And perhaps that's because he hasn't quite had his usual confidence when finishing."
Kane joined Bayern Munich from Tottenham Hotspur in 2023 and has just been awarded the Ballon d'Or as the best player in the world for his outstanding previous season. He has scored 156 goals in 161 matches in nearly three and a half years at FCB.
Hummels compares Kane's style of play with Kroos's
At half-time in the match at Atletico, Hummels expanded on his criticism of Kane. "He likes to roam in the left half-space; it's essentially the number nine dropping deep. He takes up a bit of the Toni Kroos position for a centre-forward," the former Bayern Munich defender said of the 33-year-old's display in the first 45 minutes. He would like Kane to be "a tiny bit more in the box", adding: "Then he'd have a few more chances in the game. And then I'd be happy again too, which will surely be incredibly important to him," Hummels said with a laugh.
Hummels also believes Kane's deeper role affects his team-mates. "Lennart Karl very often has two or three players right on top of him because Atletico's centre-backs can defend aggressively by stepping forward, as Harry Kane is often not in the box when crosses come in," he explained. Even so, Hummels emphasised: "That's only a small criticism, because he really is a world-class striker."
