Harry Kane is England's best ever striker but he should have stayed in the Premier League instead of moving to Bayern Munich and play in the "very ordinary" Bundesliga, former England forward Michael Owen has claimed.
"I don't think he was born to become the player he is today. That, as much as anything, is why I love him. That is why, without hesitation, I call him England's greatest-ever striker," Owen wrote in a Daily Mail column published on Monday.
"Some players arrive with gifts that simply can't be taught. Electric pace. Extraordinary balance. Harry's greatest gift isn't physical, it's mental."
Captain Kane, 32, has a record 82 England goals from 117 caps and since Saturday is also their leading World Cup scorer with 11 goals.
But Owen said that instead of going to Munich in 2023 from Tottenham Hotspur he should have stayed in England in a bid to become Premier League top scorer.
"I still think becoming the Premier League's all-time leading scorer would have been the greater achievement. He would have deserved that," Owen said.
"He'd also have had his pick of clubs once his Tottenham contract expired. Manchester United would have moved heaven and earth to sign him. He should probably have gone to Manchester City before Erling Haaland signed."
Kane won his first career titles with Bayern in the form of two Bundesligas and one German Cup, and was league top scorer in all three seasons.
But Owen, whose 40 England goals include a hat-trick in a famous 5-1 triumph over Germany in Munich in 2002 World Cup qualifying, said that while "I understand the benefits ... he is better than the Bundesliga.
"I have watched the league more now because of Harry, and beyond Bayern it is very ordinary. Week after week he is playing for a team that dominates possession, dominates territory and creates chance after chance. Of course he scores goals," he said.
"Winning Bundesliga titles with Bayern was never going to define his greatness because Bayern almost always win them. Had Bayern won the Champions League, perhaps we'd view it differently, but they haven't."
