Tottenham’s record goal-scorer Harry Kane has landed in Germany to complete his move to Bayern Munich in a deal that could rise to £120million.
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou confirmed on Friday afternoon that Kane’s transfer to the Bundesliga champions was “imminent” after a breakthrough in negotiations between the clubs was reached on Wednesday night.
It left the ball in Kane’s court and he decided on Thursday to leave his boyhood club for Bayern, who will pay an initial £100m, with add-ons potentially taking the deal up to an overall fee of £120m, the PA news agency understands.
Reports on Friday morning initially suggested Spurs had refused to give Kane permission to travel to Germany, but they were squashed by Tottenham and hours later he set off for Munich via a private jet from London Stansted airport.
Kane landed at his soon-to-be new home city on Friday night to complete his medical ahead of a landmark move.
Postecoglou, speaking before Spurs’ trip to Brentford on Sunday, said: “Fair to say I don’t have a blow-by-blow account, but my understanding is it has progressed to the point where it looks like it will happen.
“From that perspective, at least it gives us some clarity and we move forward without Harry.
“From my perspective it is just about understanding where we are at and the information I have at the moment is the deal is imminent but, like with all these things, you leave yourself some leeway.
“But moving forward and training today preparing for Brentford, we are doing it without Harry.
“It is best Harry speaks for himself in terms of the decision, but no doubt he is one of the greats of this football club and that never changes.
“I am only new in the building, but (it is) fairly evident Harry Kane will always be one of the greats for this football club.”
Kane faces a race against time to officially sign early enough to feature in Bayern’s DFL-Super Cup match with RB Leipzig on Saturday night.
However, with the clash taking place at Bayern’s Allianz Arena home, England captain Kane could well be unveiled to supporters before kick-off, even if the paperwork is not completed in time.
This is not the first summer in which Kane’s future has dominated headlines after Manchester City had a failed pursuit in 2021.
Kane sat out the first match of that season – coincidentally against City – but Pep Guardiola’s side never got close to agreeing a fee with Tottenham for the forward.
With Kane now into the last 12 months of his contract at Spurs, speculation over his future this time always felt more significant.
Bayern saw bids reportedly turned down in June and July but made their intentions clear, with honorary president Uli Hoeness and president Herbert Hainer speaking openly in the media about Kane’s desire to join the Bundesliga champions.
A third bid was submitted last Friday and Spurs spent all weekend deliberating before chairman Daniel Levy rejected the offer on Monday.
With noises coming out that Kane, who scored four goals in a friendly win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday, had enjoyed working with Postecoglou, confidence started to grow that he could spend the season with his boyhood team.
But Bayern’s latest bid proved enough for an agreement to be reached and, after Kane took his time to weigh up the decision, he decided it was the right time to end his 19-year stay at Spurs.
It means Kane’s pursuit of Alan Shearer’s Premier League goal-scoring record will be put on hold, with the Tottenham forward still 47 goals off equalling Shearer’s tally of 260.
He will leave N17 as the club’s leading marksman after he surpassed Jimmy Greaves’ 266-goal record in February with the winner against Manchester City.
Kane will also get the chance to fulfil his career-long ambition of winning trophies at Bayern, while remaining in the Champions League.
🗣️ Thomas Tuchel on the potential signing of Harry Kane: "We are working on it intensely, that much I can confirm. As of right now, no agreement has been reached, and when no agreement has been reached, then a coach will not comment on it, because it is not his player." pic.twitter.com/GWhhTbwiGX
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) August 11, 2023
Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel has been a long-term admirer of Kane, but he was coy when asked about the forward ahead of Saturday’s match with Liepzig.
Tuchel told a press conference: “We are working with full pressure on this deal.
“I understand there are a lot of ifs and whens. All options are open. The first is to have him as a player and at the moment he is not yet that.
“This is a big deal. We are trying to take the England captain away from the Premier League.”
