Commentating on the Bundesliga weekly is a joy for many reasons, but a powerful one is the knowledge that you're covering one of the most attack-minded, high-level leagues anywhere in the world.
I got to thinking this week about the most potent attackers in the Oberhaus so far this season. This list is subjective and based purely on Bundesliga form and who and what has caught my eye, and a couple of inclusions might surprise you.
1. Harry Kane | Bayern Munich | 14 goals in 11 games, 3 assists
This will shock no one, but the England captain remains a wonderful Bereicherung (enrichment) for Germany's Rekordmeister. Kane is almost too good to have to ever do it with a swagger. It's more a "this is what I was born to do and I'm having fun doing it in Munich" kind of disposition that he embodies. There is a genuine smile on his face as he finds different ways to torment opposing defenses in a league he has come to adore.
Kane began like a house on fire with his lupenreiner Hattrick (three goals in the same half of play without any other goals by anyone else in the interim) in the opener against RB Leipzig and added another Dreierpack (just a run-of-the-mill three-goal contribution) against TSG Hoffenheim on Matchday 4.
Kane's multifold abilities -- sometimes clinical striker, at times exquisite playmaker -- have him at the top of the tree by a long way. If he stays fit, it is entirely possible that he breaks Robert Lewandowski's single-season record for goals of 41, set in 2019-20.
2. Michael Olise | Bayern Munich | 6 goals in 11 games, 6 assists
Technically superb, Olise, a France international who is only 23, manages to do what Arjen Robben succeeded in doing during his glory years at Bayern: You know he's going to cut in from the right on his preferred left foot, but the best of luck trying to stop him.
Olise scored the first goal of the new season in the Auftaktspiel (opener) against Leipzig and bagged another in the same game. He was just as dangerous Saturday with another two-goal contribution in the 6-2 win over SC Freiburg after Bayern had given their opponents a two-goal head start.
It's not just about goals and style with Olise, though. He already has six assists this season and is well placed to repeat his feats from the last campaign when he led the Bundesliga with a total of 15.
3. Jonathan Burkardt | Eintracht Frankfurt | 8 goals in 10 games
Last weekend, while commentating on Eintracht's 4-3 win in FC Cologne, I was working alongside former Bundesliga and Premier League player Moritz Volz, who is now an assistant coach at Hoffenheim.
On the back of a two-goal outburst in the second half, Moritz offered the opinion that in goal-scoring ability and general sixth-sense acumen, the former Mainz striker is as close as we have in the Bundesliga to Kane. He is certainly not at Kane's level yet, but as is often said in Germany, "the trend is your friend," when you're scoring goals by the Doppelpack (double) at a fierce rate. Burkardt has netted three braces in five games, and yet there is a feeling that the best is still to come from him.
From a German point of view, the portents are positive with a player at 25, ready to shine at the World Cup in North America next summer.
4. Said El Mala | FC Cologne | 4 goals in 11 games, 2 assists
Cologne coach Lukas Kwasniok has dubbed El Mala, a 19-year-old sensation, his Goldjunge (golden boy), and it's easy to see why. El Mala, who impressed club scout Valentin Schäfer while playing across the river in the 3. Liga, has become one of the hottest properties in German club football on the strength of a series of lights-out performances for the Bundesliga Aufsteiger (promoted side.)
El Mala is two-footed but lines up best on the left-hand side of the attack. Kwasniok, not wanting to overburden his young talent, has used him judiciously and most often as a substitute. El Mala's goals tend to be of the memorable variety, and he came close to rescuing a point for his team Saturday against Eintracht after coming on in a seemingly hopeless position at 4-1 down.
Bundestrainer Julian Nagelsmann has already given El Mala his first taste of life on the Germany national team, and there will be much more to come.
5. Assan Ouédraogo | RB Leipzig | 3 goals in 11 games
I could, and some would say should, have named Bayern's Luis Díaz in my top five, but a slight Formtief (form dip) has convinced me to go with another young player, and another German one to boot.
Ouédraogo, a product of the Schalke academy, the Knappenschmiede, has flourished with Leipzig this season since coming into Ole Werner's starting XI on Matchday 4.
Ouédraogo was handed his Germany debut as a substitute in the recent 6-0 win over Slovakia to secure World Cup qualification, and he made the occasion count. The 19-year-old took just two minutes to become the national team's youngest debutant scorer since Klaus Stürmer in 1954.
Unfortunately, the gifted Ouédraogo now faces a significant period on the sideline having suffered a knee joint injury in Sunday's 2-0 win over Werder Bremen. The hope is he'll be back to provide more spice in North America.