The name Harry Kane sounds like a big, sweet temptation to Bayern (and presumably fans too). That is one of the reasons why the Munich team are apparently willing to spend more money than ever before to sign the English national striker.
Kane is without question one of the top scorers in the world, standing alongside Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappé. The top scorer of the 2018 World Cup is characterized by his consistency. Kane always scores. Last season, the London native scored 30 goals for his club Tottenham Hotspur and seven for the national team in the Premier League. In the league, only Erling Haaland was better with 36 goals.
Kane is also a down-to-earth personality who is considered a bright mind. He is the captain of the national team and of course their record goalscorer. He has spent his entire footballing life at Tottenham Hotspur and grew up just ten minutes from the stadium on White Hart Lane in the north of the city. He is married to his childhood sweetheart Katie Goodland, with whom he has three children. The fourth is on the way. If Bayern could create an ideal player with the potential to fill in the great footsteps of the sorely missed Robert Lewandowski, it would have been one like Harry Kane.
It is therefore more than understandable when the so-called transfer task force of Bayern tries to lure Kane to Säbener Straße. Coach Thomas Tuchel is said to have already given his okay as a member of the task force. The 29-year-old Kane was already at the top of the list of the then sports director Hasan Salihamidzic last year, but was too expensive at the time. The price would have been well over 100 million euros. According to Uli Hoeneß, honorary president and member of the task force, Manchester City had offered 160 million euros. Tottenham declined. Hoeneß later described such sums as “completely gaga”. Many took it to mean that Bayern would never sign Harry Kane. That’s just not what Hoeneß meant at all. Hoeneß would have found a Kane commitment ideal a year ago (like everyone else), but not at this insane amount from a German perspective.
Now the situation is different. On the one hand, Sadio Mané (for 80 million), who was signed instead of Kane, has disappointed expectations, and he is not a center forward, but a dangerous winger. The fact that Bayern praised him as the successor to top scorer Lewandowski probably had something to do with the fact that Salihamidzic, as the person responsible, wanted to make his personal king’s deal seem more brilliant than it actually was. In terms of sport, the talk of Lewandowski’s successor never made sense. Now they know in Munich: They absolutely have to close the gap left by Lewandowski in the Bayern squad with a suitable footballer. Despite the Sanés, Gnabrys, Comans or Choupo-Motings, a real world-class scorer is missing. Kane would be a striker who also has playmaker qualities.
On the other hand, Kane is an issue again because it is much cheaper this year. Players like Victor Osimhen from SSC Napoli or Kolo Muani from Eintracht Frankfurt, who were also candidates, are currently significantly more expensive due to their age (both are significantly younger) and their contract situation. Kane’s contract with Tottenham Hotspur expires in 2024. For the English club, that means they have to sell him if they want to make a profit from the world-class footballer. Next year Kane could move on a free transfer and Tottenham wouldn’t see a penny. Another possibility would be for Tottenham to extend Kane’s contract. But that is ruled out because Kane finally wants to win titles like the Champions League. That’s unlikely with Tottenham. Kane has yet to win a single trophy with the Spurs.
Bayern are said to have agreed a move with the player and have made an offer of 70 million euros plus bonus payments to Tottenham. The London club reportedly turned down the initial offer. Negotiations are underway at the moment and Bayern will follow suit. The pain threshold should be somewhere below 100 million euros. From Bayern’s point of view, one must also hope that no other competitor appears on the scene. Manchester United would be one of those. But this is where Tottenham’s club policy of not selling a top player to a Premier League rival comes into play. And Real Madrid? There, the almighty club president Florentino Pérez is said not to be convinced of Kane’s quality. There are no other clubs that would be suitable for Kane and his goals.
For Bayern, a Kane commitment would be the most expensive in the club’s history, which would easily add up to at least 200 million euros with a fee, salary and bonus for a five-year contract, as the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” calculated. At least. But in terms of sport, there would be a high probability that Bayern would finally have found the longed-for Lewandowski successor. Tuchel would only have to live with the fact that he would have to do without further reinforcements in midfield because the budget would be exhausted. But that would probably be manageable. And the Bundesliga could boast of having a real superstar. Kane could bring some shine back to the league.
Sources: DPA, “kicker”, “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, “transfermarkt.de”
