The Bayern board trusted the coaching of Julian Nagelsmann in 2022/23. After parting ways with their second leading goalscorer of all-time, the club opted against signing a bona fide number nine heading into the season.
Sadio Mane was brought in, and the former Liverpool star was set to complement a group of attackers that'd work in collective harmony to mitigate Robert Lewandowski's exit.
However, with Nagelsmann out the door and Mane now weighing up offers from Saudi Arabia, it's fair to say the experiment didn't quite go as planned. Still, another Bundesliga title, eh?
A much more aggressive stance towards their striker position has been taken by Die Roten this summer. Bayern flirted with the likes of Victor Osimhen, Dusan Vlahovic and Randal Kolo Muani, but it quickly became clear who their preference was to succeed Lewandowski a year after his departure.
The Harry Kane transfer saga has captured the Bavarian media and the rest of Europe are slowly being dragged into it, too. It's proper dull stuff, but it'd be a massive coup for Bayern if they're able to pull it off. Kane, like Lewandowski, has been regarded among the continent's elite for years, but how does he compare to Bayern's previous great number nune? Here's a statistical comparison of the two strikers.
Finishing
*All stats are taken from the two player's performance in their respective domestic leagues, with some metrics, including expected goals, having only been recorded since 2017.
Don't fear, we'll get into the actual scoring goals bit soon. The stats above depict both Kane and Lewandowski's efficiency, precision, and ability to get into good scoring positions.
Expected goals data only became available from the start of the 2017/18 season, with Kane overperforming his xG tally by over 23 goals since the beginning of that campaign. Lewandowski's overperformance is more subtle at +6.0. That would perhaps depict Kane to be the superior finisher, or at least more capable of scoring goals he simply shouldn't.
Lewandowski's quite remarkable non-penalty xG of 0.86 per 90 minutes shows that he gets himself in some excellent positions and that Bayern were pretty proficient at creating optimal chances for their star striker. Such clear-cut openings have been much harder for Kane to come by.
While the Pole tops Kane when it comes to shot on target % and goals per shot on target, the Englishman's staggering xG overperformance can't be overlooked. He has to be regarded as the better finisher.
Link-up play & creativity
*All stats are taken from the two player's performance in their respective domestic leagues.
While Lewandowski has been an adept link man up top throughout his career, Kane's playmaking only started to come to the fore once Mauricio Pochettino departed the club. Capable of swashbuckling switches of play thanks to his fearsome ball striking, Kane differs from Lewandowski in how he creates for others.
Kane will be regarded by many as the superior playmaker, especially in transition given his recent exploits under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, as well as the relationship he's struck up with Son Heung-min, but there's little to separate the pair statistically.
Their assist figures per 90 minutes, shot-creating actions per 90 and goal-creating actions per 90 are all similar. Lewandowski's superior pass completion suggests he takes less risks in possession, and that would make sense given that he likes to combine over short distances. The Pole also receives more progressive passes per 90 than Kane which may suggest he boasts superior movement to the English superstar.
The Barcelona forward's awareness and intelligence come to the fore in the opposition's box, but he's also incredibly smart when attempting to create a yard or two of space when receiving possession with his back to goal. Kane doesn't do this as much as he used to given his playmaking tendencies, although he is brilliant at relieving pressure by forcing defenders into making unnecessary fouls.
Defensive output
*All stats are taken from the two player's performance in their respective domestic leagues since 2017.
When we're assessing these folk 20 years down the line, we're not going to be discussing how effective they were in the defensive phase. "Yeah, I liked Kane, but his pressing was just too haphazard for me." Can you imagine...
As it goes, Kane was a more than willing presser at the start of his senior career under Poch at Spurs, while Lewandowski has always been keen to contribute without the ball. I really couldn't tell you who the superior defender is, but making such a comparison shouldn't be scoffed at given the significance of the number nine out of possession in the modern day.
FBRef couldn't supply us with pressing figures, but they did show us that Lewandowski typically makes more tackles in the attacking third, and is perhaps the shrewder defender given that he makes more interceptions. Kane is certainly more agricultural in his approach, and he has a knack for making one or two challenges you'd typically associate with forwards.
Stylistic comparison
It's fair to say that the two strikers are somewhat cut from the same cloth, and Kane's evolution in recent years has perhaps seen their respective styles drift apart.
However Lewandowski is more of a facilitator; a striker who performs a more traditional number nine function. The Pole rotates and combines with teammates in close proximity and is excellent with his back to goal, but also wants to be in the box as much as possible to ensure he's in the best positions to score.
Kane used to be like that, but now he's content dropping deeper, playing with his head up and creating as much as he scores. He doesn't, however, often deliver the final pass. He typically ignites attacking sequences with his supreme hold-up and passing abilities before getting on the end of the final pass himself.
As the stats show, both are majestic finishers, although I'd argue Kane is capable of scoring a greater variety of goals. However, Lewandowski's instincts in and around the box are second to none, and he deserves immense credit for perpetually being in the right place at the right time.
Career goalscoring record
Goals-per-game comparison
Honours
This is where Lewandowski gazumps Kane by some margin. While the England international is his club and country's all-time record goalscorer, he has no major honours to his name. He has, however, never been a part of a team expected to win it all.
That contrasts to Lewa, who was part of a dominant Bayern side for the best part of a decade after he won a pair of Bundesliga titles with Borussia Dortmund. He's also won titles in Poland and now Spain.
His goals fired Bayern to Champions League glory in 2020, with his performances seeing him garner the Gerd Muller Trophy award in 2020 and 2021 which meant he was regarded as Europe's best striker. Kane hasn't been recognised quite to that degree.
This article was originally published on 90min as Harry Kane vs Robert Lewandowski: A statistical deep dive on two of Europe's best strikers.
