'He's literally on another level' - Harry Kane better than Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe as ex-defender explains why Bayern Munich striker is most frightening striker around

It wouldn't be wrong to say that Kane is perhaps playing the best football of his life at the moment, at the ripe old age of 32. The former Tottenham Hotspur frontman has been absolutely on fire this season, scoring 22 goals in 15 games. But it's not just the staggering rate at which he is scoring that has grabbed all the spotlight.

Kane has long been recognised as one of football’s most intelligent forwards, renowned for his vision, awareness, and ability to bridge midfield and attack. This season, his evolution has taken another step. Often deployed as an attacking midfielder in a free-roaming No. 10 role behind Chelsea loanee Nicolas Jackson in recent weeks, Kane has thrived with the added creative responsibility. Even when leading the line as a traditional striker, he frequently drops deep into midfield to dictate play, using his exquisite passing range to pick out the diagonal runs of Luis Diaz and Michael Olise, effortlessly switching the point of attack from deep areas.

Beyond his offensive influence, Kane has also become increasingly authoritative in the defensive third. His work rate and positional intelligence allow him to track back effectively, using his physicality to win back possession and bolster the team’s defensive structure; it's a testament to his complete understanding of the game and his growing adaptability.

In a column for kicker, Babbel waxed lyrical about Kane. "Which of this trio – Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe – would I not have wanted to defend against as a defender? Clear answer: Kane!" he wrote.

"He's the hardest to pin down. He's neither exceptionally fast nor does he have an extraordinary physique, and he doesn't stand out in the air either. But he has incredible game intelligence, which allows him to evade his opponents.

"It would have been easier in the past. Back then, center-backs were man-markers or even sweepers. They were allowed, and even encouraged, to track their opponents everywhere. These days, hardly any player knows how man-marking works anymore, and since the switch to 'modern zonal marking,' nobody really knows how or when to cover him."

Babbel ranked Haaland behind Kane, explaining: "For me, Haaland comes after Kane. When he uses his dynamism and gets his body in the way, I don't know where I'd be flying." Mbappe, on the other hand, is not as difficult to defend against – "if you have pace and position yourself well."

Towards the end, he was clear about whom he'd choose as his team-mate. "If I could choose one teammate from the three, I'd also choose Kane. With his defensive attitude, he's taken the whole thing to another level."

Kane, Haaland and Mbappe trio have been terrorising defences both domestically and in the Champions League this season with their respective sides. Kane has been on a tear, becoming the fastest player in history to reach a century of goals for a club in one of Europe's top five leagues.

Haaland, meanwhile, has scored 13 of the 18 league goals scored by Manchester City in their opening 10 games – the Norwegian accounts for 72.22 per cent of his team's goals domestically. He is on track to break his own record for the most goals in a Premier League season he set in his debut campaign in the 2022-23 season. His total tally across competitions stands at 17 goals in 13 games.

Mbappe, too, has put behind the collective disappointment of his debut season at Real Madrid, leading the La Liga charts with 13 goals in 11 games and 18 in 14 across all competitions. He is tied with Haaland in the race for the European Golden Shoe 2025-26, which the Frenchman hopes to win once again next summer.

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