Harry Kane can't be blamed for Bayern Munich's downfall this season - but the German giants may regret splashing all their cash on him.
European football expert Andy Brassell has questioned why last year's Bundesliga champions spent a huge fee on the England captain, only to leave gaps in the rest of the side.
Thomas Tuchel's side are currently 10 points off league leaders Bayer Leverkusen, with their 2-2 draw against SC Freiburg marking another disappointing result in their underwhelming season.
Not to mention Tuchel himself is already heading out the door at the end of the season, with Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso opening talks with Bayern already.
Of course, this campaign isn't over yet. But with the Bundesliga title slipping away and needing to overturn a one-goal deficit against Lazio this evening in the Champions League round of 16, it's looking increasingly unlikely Kane will finally lift a trophy this term.
But for Brassell, he thinks that Bayern spending so much on Kane was always questionable practice, not because of Kane's impact, but because of how short it left other areas of the team.
Brassell told talkSPORT: "This narrative about Harry Kane going somewhere and Bayern all of a sudden not winning the league for the first time in 12 years, obviously that's ridiculously harsh.
"I think you have to ask why did they buy him in the first place? Now, the obvious answer is to replace Robert Lewandowski.
"But, the other answer is they end up going and spending over £100million on a striker, which is not a very German thing to do, because they had a lot of cracks to cover.
"Management, their transfer policy, has not been what it should be over the last little while. There are holes everywhere else in the team.
"[Bayer] Leverkusen would've gone into this weekend with a 10-point advantage had Harry Kane did not score a stoppage time winner against [RB] Leipzig last week.
"I mean, 27 league goals this season, he could not have done anymore."
There has been plenty of speculation over whether Kane will see out the second year of his contract if he doesn't win a trophy this year.
But Brassell believes it depends on how Kane's potential suitors will look come the summer.
"It depends on what's available I suppose, who is available," he said. "I think people know that if he had the Manchester United option last year, he may have chosen that over Bayern.
"But you're not going to Manchester United now, you're not going back to Spurs, you're not going to Chelsea. Where is the Premier League destination for him? I think that's the question.
"I think he's made his bed, and he has to stick with Bayern really. But they're always going to be in the position where he can compete in the Champions League year, after year, after year and compete for the Champions League."
Kane famously missed out on a move to Manchester City in 2021, but the Premier League champions could not agree a fee with Tottenham.
There were also suggestions Kane would run his contract down at Spurs and sign for Man United as a free agent this summer, but he moved to Germany and the Red Devils snapped up Rasmus Hojlund.
But Brassell believes Kane might not need to look elsewhere anyway, as long as Bayern get themselves in order.
The German giants recently recruited a new sporting director, Max Eberl, and are undergoing a restructure to their management team.
"They've got to construct a team around him that's worthy of Harry Kane," Brassell added.
Kane does of course still have a chance of winning a trophy this season away from Bayern.
England head to the Euros in Germany this summer, with the Three Lions tipped to have a successful tournament after finishing as runners up to Italy last time out.
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