Harry Kane has tipped new teammate Luis Diaz to challenge him for the Bundesliga’s Golden Boot award this season.
The Colombian winger opened his account for Bayern with a close-range finish in Saturday’s 2-1 German Super Cup victory over VfB Stuttgart.
Diaz appears to have quickly settled into his new surroundings following his £65.5million switch from Liverpool last month.
Kane, who netted Bayern’s opener in the victory, has been left highly impressed by his new teammate so much so, that he believes Diaz could even challenge him in the race to top the Bundesliga scoring charts.
“He gets into that six-yard box, he makes those runs and he has got a great finish,” the England skipper told Sky Sports.
“I think it is important, especially in this modern football, for the wingers to be scoring hopefully 15 to 20 goals a season. The goal was a great run, a great finish.”
“He had a couple of others that he was unlucky with in the game. For him, it will be great confidence.
“Scoring in your first competitive game for a new club is great and for it to be the winning goal is a perfect start for him.”
Kane has kicked off the season in superb form and is eyeing a third straight Kicker-Torjägerkanone – the German name for the Golden Boot award.
But the 32-year-old knows that like the other clubs that competing in this summer’s Club World Cup, it could be a gruelling campaign ahead due to the reduced break and a revamped pre-season.
“It has been a short pre-season,” Kane added. “We have had to get a lot of stuff done in a short space of time.”
Kane also reaffirmed Bayern’s need to bring in more fresh faces following the departure of club legend Thomas Muller and the long-term absence of playmaker Jamal Musiala.
“It is one of the smallest squads I have probably played in,” he said. “There is still time from now until the end of the transfer window.
“We have a couple of really good young players who have done well in the pre-season games, but we are a little light, if we are being honest.
“We are going to need everyone. With the squad we have, everyone is going to play, everyone is going to get opportunities. There are going to be moments where each individual has to step up and show what they can do.”
“It is important to have that momentum to start the year,” he said. “He (Muller) only really left last week. We have to look forward, we have to move on. He was a big character but that gives other people opportunities to step up and be that leader, be that person.”
Kane will be thankful that Diaz has already shown signs of stepping up to the plate and will hope the Colombian can continue his lightning start when Bayern kick off the new Bundesliga season on Friday at home to RB Leipzig.
A second-successive Bundesliga title will be the minimum requirement for Kane who picked up the second trophy of his career in Saturday’s Super Cup triumph.
And whilst the win was welcomed with open arms at the Allianz Arena, Kane admits he has his eyes on club football’s top prize this season.
“We celebrate every trophy like it is the first and we move on to the next one,” he said.
“We will be one of the favourites (for the Champions League). PSG, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man City, Liverpool, all the big teams are going to have their eye on that trophy.
“But as we know, there is a long journey from now until that final. Step by step, we try to move in the right direction.”