Bayern Munich are reported to have set Tottenham Hotspur a final deadline of midnight on Friday August 4 to make a decision on whether they are open to selling Harry Kane to the German Champions.
Jason Burt of the Telegraph revealed that Bayern have moved forward with a final offer for the England captain, and that if this is not accepted by Daniel Levy and the Tottenham hierarchy, then they will move on to other targets.
It comes at the end of a long-running saga between Bayern and Spurs which started back in June when German newspaper Bild reported that there was an ‘agreement’ in place between Kane’s representatives and the Bavarian club over personal terms and a desire to join.
That didn’t change much from a Tottenham perspective, with the North London club rejecting Bayern’s first bid, thought to be around the range of £60m plus add-ons, and also a follow up bid closer to £70m with add-ons.
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New bid submitted for Kane
Bayern have now put their final card on the table, according to Florian Plettenburg of Sky Germany, which is a bid of over €100m, including all bonuses.
Spurs were reported to be holding out for an offer around the £100m mark, which this doesn’t quite reach, given the conversion from Euros to Pounds Sterling, but Bayern feel their offer is more than fair, especially considering Kane’s desire to join.
If accepted, there is a widespread belief that things would then move very quickly, with no issues foreseen in contract talks or personal terms. Bayern’s No. 9 shirt has been vacant since the departure of Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona, and it is expected that Kane would be handed it.
❗️Excl. News #Kane: Bayern has submitted a new offer of more than €100m now – with bonus payments included ✔️
➡️ Bayern bosses expect an answer in the hours! #COYS@SkySportDE 🏴 pic.twitter.com/PfKdQdiYdX
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) August 4, 2023
Spurs' dilemma
Whilst Tottenham have repeatedly stated that they have no desire to sell Harry Kane – and with Hugo Lloris leaving in the summer, would like to make him club captain – they know that there is a limited lifespan on being able to get value for a prized asset.
Kane has one year remaining on his contract in North London, and next summer would be able to walk away for free. That threat, alongside the idea that instead of going abroad to Bayern or elsewhere, he would be free to join a rival Premier League club, hangs over the head of Levy.
The England captain has stated that he is not going to sign a new contract at Tottenham this summer, although he has not ruled out extending his stay if obvious signs of progress are made this season under the stewardship of new manager Ange Postecoglou.
But with Manchester United long-term suitors, and former coach Pochettino now having the reins across London at Chelsea, there will be alternative Premier League options for Kane should he choose to see out his contract and leave for free next summer.
And there’s plenty of reason to believe that moving to one of those clubs would be attractive to Kane. He’s currently second in the all-time scorer list in the Premier League, with 213 goals to his name – and he’s 48 goals away from breaking the record that’s currently held by Alan Shearer.
Trophies remain the thing that has eluded him at Tottenham though. Despite being the club’s record goalscorer and remaining loyal to his boyhood club for the best part of a decade, there is still a silverware-shaped hole in Kane’s CV, and it is something he clearly wants to address.
How would Harry Kane fit at Bayern Munich?
If Kane was to join Bayern, he would be expected to fill the hole that Robert Lewandowski’s departure left in the Bavarians’ attack. Whilst Sadio Mané was brought in last summer to provide a different type of attacking threat, Bayern looked far less dangerous, and the Senegalese international was moved on to Al-Nassr just a year on from joining.
Julian Nagelsmann’s attempt to make the Bayern forward line more fluid and less dependent on a single source of goals worked for a time, but ultimately a lack of goal threat in the second half of the season cost Nagelsmann his job – and nearly cost Bayern the title.
Kane’s impeccable scoring record would do much to address that issue under Nagelsmann’s successor Thomas Tuchel, but Kane would do much more than simply fill the vacant striker’s position.
His ability to drop deep and link play, bringing wingers into the game in dangerous areas has been well documented in his almost telepathic connection with Heung-Min Son at Tottenham, and Tuchel will be hoping Kane would have a similar effect on the production of his wing corps, which includes the likes of Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry.
It’s not a completely seamless fit though. Question marks will linger over how Kane’s desire to drop in would affect the space in which the likes of Thomas Muller and Jamal Musiala like to operate.
Local Opposition?
And the move hasn’t been without opposition in Germany either. An open letter this week from Bild columnist Raimund Hinko, a powerful and well-respected figure within the German football community, slammed the transfer and called Kane a “30-year-old bone.”
Hinko questioned the idea of Kane ever being able to fill the shoes of Robert Lewandowski, whose goal scoring form at Bayern was legendarily consistent over a decade at the club, and stated that the idea of letting young star Mathys Tel move in the other direction was ridiculous.
Whether that’s a widespread feeling in Bavaria or not, it shows that there is not complete satisfaction with Bayern’s dealings over Kane, and would suggest that there’s plenty to do for the Englishman to win over hearts and minds in Munich, if he were to sign on the dotted line.
