For most Tottenham Hotspur fans, the thought of losing Harry Kane this summer was absolutely unbearable.
This was a player who had been part of the club's DNA for almost 20 years, graduating through the club's academy to become the club's greatest ever goalscorer. He was everything good about Tottenham during the highs of reaching the Champions League final under Mauricio Pochettino to the lows of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte's failed reigns.
Many thought Kane would stay put and eventually be convinced by chairman Daniel Levy to sign yet another contract extension. But after weeks and weeks (and weeks) of speculation, the 30-year-old eventually made the decision to leave.
"Obviously a lot of emotions going through me right now," Kane's words when his transfer to Bayern Munich was confirmed. "There's been so many great moments and special memories that I will cherish forever."
The motives for Kane's desire to leave were publicised in the days that followed. Winning trophies was the first thing that sprung to many people's mind, but England captain's also referred to his desire to compete at the highest level of football (the Champions League) and to go out of his comfort zone.
"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," he said.
In addition to winning Bayern Munich trophies, Kane also took on the role of Robert Lewandowski's goalscoring successor. The Pole left in the summer of 2022 to join Barcelona, taking his 344-goal boots with him in the process, but the Bavarian giants weren't able to secure a like-for-like replacement.
In the end, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting admirably filled the void as Sadio Mane's move from Liverpool went south, and he just about helped scrape Bayern over the line in a close 2022/23 Bundesliga title race.
Few doubted that Kane would hit the ground running at Bayern, but his electrifying start in Munich may have even taken him by surprise. With just seven games under his belt, the 30-year-old already has eight goals to his name and four assists.
His latest performance, in the 7-0 mauling of VfL Bochum, consisted of a hat-trick and brace of assists. That followed a goalscoring outing against Manchester United in the Champions League, when Kane stepped up from 12 yards to confidently smash a penalty beyond Andre Onana's outstretched right hand.
Kane's 2023/24 stats compare to Mbappe, Haaland and Ronaldo
DFL-Supercup final disappointment aside, when Kane was a substitute in the surprise 3-0 defeat to RB Leipzig, Bayern have been outstanding. They have scored 22 goals in the six games that have followed, with Kane directly contributing to over half of those strikes.
His statistics inevitably rank him among Europe's finest performers so far this season, pitting him alongside the irrepressible Erling Haaland and the equally magnificent Kylian Mbappe. They've also scored eight goals this season - Mbappe's in two less games and Haaland's in two more - but neither have had the playmaking impact that Kane has.
Then there's Cristiano Ronaldo's form over in the Saudi Pro League to take stock of. The 38-year-old, admittedly against lower-calibre opposition, has bagged nine goals and four assists in six games for Al Nassr - an incredible record that has catapulted his side towards the top of the table.
It's an incredibly impressive return for Ronaldo, who has 15 goals in 14 games across all competitions and, like Kane, is the talismanic figure in a side that also contains the aforementioned Mane, as well as Aymeric Laporte, Marcelo Brozovic and other notable European alumni.
Kane's exploits would lead many to believe that he'd be the Bundesliga's top goalscorer at this moment in time, but that crown surprisingly belongs to the record-breaking Serhou Guirassy of VfB Stuttgart. He's netted an incredible ten goals in five games, including a hat-trick and trio of braces, and averages a goal every 43 minutes played.
63 minutes per goal is Kane's output from his first five Bundesliga showings, coupled with a 69% shot accuracy and 80% win rate.
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This article was originally published on 90min as How Harry Kane's start at Bayern Munich compares to Mbappe, Haaland & Ronaldo.