'People take it for granted!' - Harry Kane lashes back at his 'bored' doubters as he sets out plans to win Ballon d'Or with Bayern Munich & England achievements

With remarkable individual standards being maintained over the course of his career, Kane is the all-time leading scorer for Tottenham Hotspur and England. When representing his country, he has managed 69 goals through 103 appearances.

Kane admits that his form can be "taken for granted", with it expected that he will hit the net when taking to the field. The 31-year-old is, however, adamant that he will never get complacent or see the joy of scoring a goal diminish.

England’s captain has said in The Telegraph: "People take it for granted and maybe a little bit with England as well. I’ve scored 69 goals and when you score against Albania or Latvia, or these teams, people just expect it so it’s not spoken about so much.

"Sometimes, I say if I was 25 now and doing what I’m doing, the excitement around me would maybe be a little bit different to what it is now. Again, that’s part of where we are with football and I’ve seen it with some other players as they get into their 30s. Maybe people just get a little bit bored of what you do, but I’m certainly not bored. I’m excited for these games and the games ahead."

Kane believes that his "aura" as a player is now "a bit more respected" and hopes that he can put himself in contention for a Golden Ball at some stage. He added when asked if he can chase down the title of best player on the planet: "One hundred percent. I felt that last season as well. I scored over 40 goals, but obviously, I was never going to win the Ballon d’Or because we didn’t win the team trophies. I felt like, probably at Spurs, no matter how many goals I scored, ultimately unless you win the title and the Champions League, you’re not going to be in those conversations. I finished 10th in the Ballon d’Or while at Spurs and that was as high as I probably could have finished.

"Those opportunities are there. That’s probably what I mean in terms of being respected more worldwide, on the bigger stage. For something like that, you have to win enough team trophies to be considered in that and probably score 40-odd goals, but that is a possibility this season. That is definitely something I would love to try to achieve."

Kane is on the hunt for major silverware this season, as he looks to break his much-publicised duck, with Bayern Munich top of the Bundesliga table and into the Champions League quarter-finals. With England, a bid for World Cup glory in 2026 is about to be opened when facing Albania and Latvia in qualification fixtures under new head coach Thomas Tuchel.