'Should be higher' - Harry Kane's shock Ballon d'Or ranking savaged by England manager Thomas Tuchel

Kane helped Bayern to Bundesliga title glory last season, lifting his much-publicised trophy curse in the process. He hit 41 goals in all competitions, with 26 of those seeing him to a second Golden Boot in the German top-flight. He is now up to 103 efforts in total for Bayern across just 106 appearances.

Kane is already Tottenham’s all-time leading scorer and has taken his history tally of strikes for England to 74. Tuchel continues to look to the 32-year-old for on-field inspiration, as he also fills the captain’s armband for the Three Lions. Given all that he has achieved, with remarkable standards being maintained, many are of the opinion that Kane deserves to figure more prominently when any list of the best players on the planet is drawn up.

Tuchel shares that opinion, with England’s head coach saying of Kane’s 13th-place finish in the latest Ballon d’Or vote: “I'm not the biggest fan of individual awards in a team sport because I truly believe that you can only win in football. The field is too big, the teams are too big as a team player, but Harry is a true team player, and he stands out with what he does, so he should be higher than 13th for sure.”

Kane has always been a team player, with collective success as important to him as any individual accolades. He is, however, a fierce competitor and a man that wants to take up a standing at the very top of the global game.

He has said of competing for future Ballons d’Or, with there no sign of him slowing down on the goal front: “Obviously, I would love to win the Ballon d’Or. Essentially it is a team trophy that the best individual from that team wins so no matter how you do in a season unless you win the biggest competitions it is going to be a Champions League winner or a World Cup winner this time around.

“Especially when you are this early in the season it is impossible to talk about it. I would love to win it for sure, it would be an accumulation of doing something great individually and as a team. It would be almost the perfect season. The opportunity is there when you are playing at a club like Bayern - who are always one of the favourites to win the Champions League. With England we are going to be one of the favourites to win the World Cup.”

While Kane’s value to any given cause has never been lost on those around him, or those supporting from the stands, the general consensus is that he does not always get the recognition he deserves from the wider football community.

Ex-England international Joleon Lescott has said on that point, with the Premier League title winner also reacting to Kane’s lowly Golden Ball ranking when telling In The Mixer podcast from Sky Bet: “I don’t want to sound disrespectful, but people don't necessarily tune in to watch Harry Kane. There’s the talent, but the fundamentals of his game are ridiculously high, a lot like [Bukayo] Saka, but if its people basing it on who they want to see, it’s not Kane. What he's done and what he has achieved is definitely taken for granted. Since he’s been at Bayern Munich, he’s scored more goals than games.”

That is the case for Kane in Bundesliga action, with the target being found on 73 occasions through 69 appearances. He is nursing a slight knock at present, which will keep him out of England’s friendly date with Wales at Wembley on Thursday, but already has his sights locked on landing major honours with club and country in 2026 - with another World Cup fast approaching.