Harry Kane scored 73 goals last season — the highest tally of his career — while consistently dropping deeper into midfield than at any previous point in his professional life. It is a paradox that has fascinated observers, and one the 33-year-old England and Bayern Munich striker is happy to unpack.

"Until you really understand football, it's so easy to say 'stay high, you're going to score' but it doesn't work like that," Kane says, a grin spreading across his face as the subject is raised.

A role that cannot be pigeonholed

Bayern boss Vincent Kompany has described Kane's position as being 50% coached and 50% the striker's own instinct. Kane himself frames his role as one of two number 10s operating in tandem — a significant shift from the lone number nine reputation he built earlier in his career.

"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," he explains. "You're relying on everyone else to find you."

Playing alongside a second forward allows Kane and his partner to overload one side of the pitch, forcing opposition centre-backs into impossible decisions about who to mark. If they commit to both attackers man-for-man, space opens up for Bayern's wingers and full-backs to exploit.

The physical numbers behind the drop

Kane's deeper role places considerable physical demands on him, yet the numbers suggest he is coping — and then some. Over the past six seasons, data from STATSports, a sports technology company Kane has invested in, show his distance covered, high-speed running, and accelerations increased by 8%, 22%, and 42% respectively.

"Over the last five or six years, man-to-man pressure has become bigger," Kane says. "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."

Where other strikers have responded to that trend by becoming more physical or adding dribbling to their arsenal, Kane — by his own admission "not the fastest" — has relied on football intelligence. Against Borussia Dortmund in the German Super Cup, with two opponents converging on him, Kane used a subtle shift of his body to wrong-foot both Daniel Svensson and Jobe Bellingham before snapping the ball in the opposite direction, opening up the entire pitch from inside Bayern's half.

Creating goals without touching the ball

A Champions League clip against Club Brugge illustrates just how far Kane's influence extends beyond his own goal tally. Lennart Karl scored without Kane touching the ball, yet Kane's run — dragging a defender out of position — was the decisive action that created the chance.

"These are the little runs not everyone sees," Kane explains. "Sometimes it's 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 dangerous for any centre-back."

Kane is also attuned to the strengths of those around him. With Jamal Musiala and Lennart Karl both capable of receiving in tight spaces and driving forward, Kane will at times stay higher and look to run in behind, complementing rather than competing with his team-mates' strengths.

A number nine, 10, and six in one

"He's like having a number nine, a 10 and a six in the team," one Bayern staff member told BBC Sport, capturing the breadth of what Kane provides. With the Ballon d'Or conversation touching on names such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Erling Haaland as historical benchmarks for individual output, Kane's 73-goal season places him in extraordinary company — and the full picture of his contribution goes well beyond the scoresheet.