How Harry Kane could fit into the Manchester City squad

There has been a lot of buzz around Harry Kane possibly making a move to Manchester City this summer in their attempt to find a replacement for Sergio Aguero. As in the previous article about Jack Grealish (which you can find here), the goal of this article is not to discuss whether the England international will sign for Manchester City, but rather to discuss how he would fit in the squad if he signed for City.

Harry Kane is an interesting target because he is so tactically flexible. At first glance, it isn’t exactly obvious that Kane would be so adaptable. His appearance resembles a prototypical England number 9. He looks like big, bruising striker who holds up play, stays in the box and bangs in goals. While Kane is a world class goal-scorer, he is so much more than only that. Kane had two very different roles under two very different managers and excelled under them both.

Mauricio Pochettino

Under Pochettino, Kane was much more of a “classic” English striker. Positionally, he played very high. He generally did not drop deeper to receive the ball or move out wide. His main job under Pochettino was to link up play higher up the pitch, occupy the opposing centre-backs, and get in the box to score goals. Spurs under Pochettino did play a high pressing system much of the time, and Kane was very intelligent in executing his role in the high press. He doesn’t necessarily have much pace, but his movement was smart in cutting off key passing lanes to make it difficult for opposing centre-backs to play the balls that they wanted to play.

His movement in attack was very intelligent as well. In build up, he made runs often to try to pull opposing defenders out of place in order to free up space for the attacking players behind him. He made well-timed diagonal runs to free up runners like Heung-min Son, Christian Eriksen, and Dele Alli. As those players progressed the ball up the field, Kane would use the same intelligence to move in the box and find his goals being setup from his teammates.

Jose Mourinho

Kane’s role under Mourinho was vastly different than his role under Pochettino, and much more interesting as well. There is a lot of blame to unpack in terms of how Mourinho handled his situation at Tottenham, but one thing is abundantly clear: he saw quality in Harry Kane beyond that of a typical striker. Those qualities, in large part, were expressed in his ability to help build up play from deeper.

Mourinho wanted Kane on the ball going forward as much as possible. In order to accomplish this, he had Kane drop deeper in front of the opposing central defenders, or even move wider to receive the ball. Part of that is due to the style that Mourinho plays as well. His teams don’t press like Pochettino’s pressed, and they generally sat deeper to launch counter attacks. Regardless of the new role, Kane thrived more than ever. Dropping into deeper spaces to receive the ball showcased talent from Kane that most people had not seen previously. The first thing that it showed was the Harry Kane is a phenomenal passer. This past season was the first season starting with Mourinho, and he led the Premier League in both goals and assists. His assist numbers were particularly impressive because had double the amount of assists than his previous highest number. The stats don’t tell the entire story, though. The passes that he completed on a regular basis were passes that looked like they were coming from some of the best midfielders in the world.

This is one of many examples of Kane completing some world class passes to teammates while dropping from deep. His passing may have come through in different spells while playing for Pochettino, but Mourinho made sure to show the world exactly how good of a passer Harry Kane is.

When dropping deep, Kane did not only pass the ball, but he was very good at turning and running with the ball as well. This not only showed his technical ability on the ball, but also his decision-making ability. Rather than pulling defenders out of place by making off-ball runs, he would receive it from deep, forcing defenders to make a decision on whether to chase him or stay in place. When the defenders stayed in place, Kane did very well at turning, running with the ball, and making decisions on how to progress their attack from there. A perfect example of this, unfortunately, came against Manchester City in November 2020.

This goal was a perfect example of how Kane would bring the ball upfield and use his decision making to pick out Lo Celso for the goal. It is noticeable how deep he was carrying the ball, where Laporte and Dias were nowhere near him. Although Kane was dropping deeper to receive the ball, his goal tallies did not take much of a hit. He still scored 23 goals in the 2020/21 Premier League season, and he missed three matches due to injury, along with a coaching change after the sacking of Mourinho.

One last observation that is a little less obvious was his continued intelligence in pressing as directed by Mourinho. As discussed previously, Mourinho did not utilize a high press. Instead, Mourinho tried to press in the midfield or drop deeper. This was evident in Kane’s tactical pressing instructions. Rather than press the centre-backs, Kane waited until a deeper lying midfielder for the opposing team received the ball, and pressed them from behind along with his midfielders from the front. This shows Kane’s tactical awareness and intelligence in defense as well as going forward.

Overall, Kane has displayed a multitude of talents under Mourinho and Pochettino, and it is clear to see why he has become one of the best strikers in the world.

How would he fit into Manchester City?

It is no secret as to why Pep Guardiola is excited about the opportunity of working with Harry Kane. As shown through his qualities under Pochettino and Mourinho, he has all of the qualities to become a perfect Pep Guardiola Number 9.

It is well known that Pep is very demanding of his strikers. He requires intelligence on and off the ball, in attack and in defense. First, Harry Kane’s intelligence in pressing will be much appreciated in this side. Many City supporters can remember Pep being very hard on Sergio Aguero in the beginning of his reign as City manager due to his pressing. Pep won’t have those same problems with Kane, as he has proven to be an intelligent presser of the ball even with different tactical instructions.

Second, Kane’s flexibility will be welcomed by Pep, who also loves flexibility. Depending on the setup of opposing teams, Pep Guardiola likes to play his team in different ways. We have seen it this year with the different uses of the false 9 and lineups that he has played. Harry Kane in the lineup allows Guardiola to use him in different ways depending on the opponent. If Pep believes an opponent would be better to break down with the use of a traditional striker in the box, Kane is well equipped to carry out that task. If Pep believes that an extra body in midfield is more helpful in maintaining control and an attack, Kane can fill that role as well by being a great passer and showing his ability to be effective from deep. Guardiola also loves moving his attackers around to create confusion, which is why it is not uncommon to watch previous City matches and see Aguero or Jesus out wide. Kane can also fill that role as well. Most importantly, however, is that Kane is a proven goal-scorer, which City are desperately in need of.

In conclusion, Harry Kane’s intelligence and tactical flexibility is perfect for how Pep Guardiola wants to play, especially in a position that Manchester City are so desperate to fill. For these reasons, it is no surprise that Kane is such a high priority.