This is the latest on the future of Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane, ahead of Ange Postecoglou’s side arriving in Perth this week for a tour match against West Ham.
Will he or won’t he?
That’s the question that once again dominates the discourse surrounding Harry Kane’s club future. The Tottenham Hotspur superstar has once again been subject to transfer speculation, linking him to a move away from the North London side.
However, with less than 12 months remaining on his contract, Kane’s future is as uncertain as it’s ever been, with German giants Bayern Munich among the global powerhouses reportedly pursuing the 29-year-old striker.
New coach Ange Postecoglou is set meet with the English star for the first time next week when he is scheduled to report to pre-season training ahead of Spurs’ tour to Perth, Australia – following an extended off-season break due to international duty.
And with Spurs’ opening pre-season game against West Ham at Optus Stadium right around the corner, there is still a chance Kane could still be on the plane to Perth. However, a lot hinges on whether he still makes his scheduled return to pre-season training and whether he is ultimately named in the touring squad by Postecoglou.
Ahead of their tour down under, KEEPUP looks at the Kane situation and how things are placed regarding his club future.
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The situation
It feels like a case of deja vu every off-season.
Harry Kane has constantly been linked with a move away from Spurs ever since he burst onto the scene in the 2014/15 season.
The likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Real Madrid have all come hard for his services in seasons past. In 2021, Kane came closest to leaving when he struck a “gentlemen’s agreement” with chairman Daniel Levy that would allow him to leave.
City reportedly offered £127 million for his services, but Spurs rejected their advances, despite the tenuous agreement between the two parties that would allow Kane to seek a fresh start. In the end, Kane stuck around for the next two seasons, but is now in the final year of a six-year contract he signed back in 2018.
Bayern have been pursuing Kane this off-season, sensing an opportunity to replenish their attacking stocks and find a suitable replacement for Robert Lewandowski after he left the German giants for FC Barcelona in 2022.
The reigning Bundesliga champions reportedly came to the table with their latest offer of around 70 million euros plus add-ons, which was rejected by Spurs. Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel also reportedly held private talks with Kane in recent weeks regarding a move to Bavaria – which was said to have angered Levy.
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talkSPORT have also reported that Levy is set to rebuff any offer that comes their way from Bayern this transfer window and has reportedly insisted Kane is not for sale.
United and Madrid have expressed interest as recently as a few months ago, but have cooled their interest, despite the latter still looking for a replacement for outgoing striker Karim Benzema.
Ramon Alvarez de Mon of Marca reported in late May that Kane and his Spurs teammate Richarlison were of interest to Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti. However, the costs involved with a move for Kane would make a move “tough” – according to Alvarez.
In the meantime, Spurs have upped their push to retain Kane, reportedly offering him a substantially larger pay package than the £200,000-a-week deal he is currently on. Kane, however, has no intention to sign on the dotted line this off-season and is willing to wait until the summer transfer window closes before he makes a decision on his future.
This leaves Spurs in limbo as they run the risk of losing him for free at the end of the season should he not re-sign and not sell him in the summer or winter transfer windows, which would be an enormous blow to Spurs’ coffers.
However, according to The Guardian Levy believes Kane will “come to see that his long-term future is best served at Spurs” and will eventually re-sign for the club, although it’s rated as the “least likely” option – up against leaving in the summer or at the end of the season on a free transfer.
According to respected football journalist David Ornstein, Spurs are expected to run the risk of losing Kane and try convince him to sign an extension to stay with his boyhood club.
“It’s always been my understanding that Daniel Levy and Tottenham will try to negotiate a new contract for Kane, even if it goes into next season, in the hope that the new manager… may bring an upturn in fortunes, that things might be looking better, the trajectory, may be positive. They might be challenging for trophies,” Ornstein said.
“Kane, who is a Tottenham fan along with his family and would like nothing more than to win trophies at Tottenham, might be enticed to sign a new contract.
“But there’s a lot of ifs in there, but it does stand to reason from what I understand that Tottenham will continue to try and get him to sign a new deal and they don’t have any intention of selling him.
“I guess it just depends how far other clubs test their patience on that. Now, Bayern Munich have already come in with an offer of €70 million plus add ons, we seem to think they’ll go again whether they actually have done or not – let’s wait and see whether other clubs come in and whether Kane would agree to it.
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“Ultimately, when he finally is in such a strong position, with all of the options open to him, so it’s a delicate situation, although I don’t think it’s as acrimonious as it was in 2021. I think things are quite cordial and calm at the moment.
“Let’s see if he comes back to to pre-season training and and I’m sure he will be a professional as always, score his goals if he stays and if a deal happens, then that would be a huge situation for Daniel Levy to consider.
“But it would still take a massive amount of money even with 12 months left on his deal at 29 years old.”
In a recent fan question-and-answer, Postecoglou explained that he’s planning for life with Kane and how he plans to build the attack around the star forward and Son Heung-Min.
“Hopefully Harry and Sonny score bags of goals and they’re not the only ones,” he said.
“There’s no such thing as an ugly goal, every time that ball crosses the line the emotion that it brings to people, I love.
“It’s still the best part of the game for me. It unites people, it unites strangers, it doesn’t matter who you’re standing next to when the ball goes across that line, that’s who you’re hugging.
“So hopefully the boys score bags of goals.”
What the pundits are saying?
England legend Alan Shearer took a lighthearted approach to speculation surrounding Kane’s future.
“If Harry wants to join Bayern, I’ll drive his f****** car there myself; anything to protect my Premier League goalscoring record of 260 – Harry is on 213,” Shearer said in an article in The Athletic.
“In truth, any hope there is probably forlorn.
“Harry is nearly 30, but he looks after himself, he’s steered clear of major injuries and he’s perfectly capable of coming back to England in a couple of years’ time and banging in enough goals to overtake me.
“Still, though. Give me the keys and a sat nav and off I’ll go…”
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Meanwhile, former Bayern midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger believes a move to Bayern would be a “great fit” and should strongly consider a move to the German giants, if he hopes to finally win some silverware at club level.
“He has to ask himself if he wants to win a league, a title in his life as a football player – you know, a championship or a Champions League,” he said on talkSPORT.
“I know he’s a person who likes to have his family and his friends around him and Munich is the best place for that. You have a beautiful area around where you can live and where your family can grow up and it’s safe.
“Also the experience abroad that I had when I went to Man United helped me a lot and I grew as a person as well and of course as a football player he’d have a very good team around him and a very good coach, so there’s a lot of things are speaking for him in his favour.”
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He also believes Kane could be the missing piece Bayern are looking for at front, as they still seek a “proper striker” to replace Lewandowski.
“Bayern Munich are looking for a striker, a proper striker like [Robert] Lewandowski,” he said.
“Choupo-Moting is not good enough for Bayern Munich and so he’s more the plan B solution, but Bayern Munich would of course like to sign Harry Kane.”
However, he acknowledged there may be a major obstacle in the way of Kane moving to Bayern, given Levy’s history of being a shrewd negotiator.
“I also know that Bayern Munich are not a club who will pay as much money as maybe the owner of Tottenham is asking for,” Schweinsteiger said.
“So there will be one guy who puts the first offer on the table and says ‘no, we’re not paying so much’ but they’re looking for a striker, that’s for sure.”
What’s next?
Kane is set to meet with Ange Postecoglou when he returns to Hotspur Way for pre-season training next week.
Tottenham will jet down under to Perth to face West Ham in the first of three international pre-season games on July 18. They will also face Leicester City and Roma in South-East Asia to round out the tour.
It will be a curious watch to see if Kane is named in the squad to travel down under, with the final list to be determined by the club in the coming days.
Spurs off-season business
Despite the uncertainty surrounding Kane’s future, new Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has gotten to work shaping the squad in his image.
The Aussie has already signed rising Italian goalkeeper Gugliemo Vicario from Serie A outfit Empoli, English midfielder James Maddison for £40 million and made Dejan Kulusevski’s move permanent – after a season-and-a-half on loan from Juventus.
Spurs are also reportedly set to land Israeli winger Manor Solomon on a five-year-deal after an impressive loan stint at Fulham last season, along with young defender Micky van de Ven from Wolfsburg.
They are also set to complete a permanent move for French centre-back Clement Lenglet for as low as £5 million from FC Barcelona.
“I think that with Tottenham we will reach an agreement for Lenglet. This almost never goes fast. It depends on the other party,” Barcelona president Joan Laporta said.
The North-Londoners have got to work on the departures front too, selling midfielder Harry Winks to Leicester City after a season on loan with Serie A wooden spooners Sampdoria.
Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris also looks set for the exit door after declaring he would like to leave the club.
Croatian winger Ivan Perisic is reportedly close to a return to his first club Hajduk Split, while according to The Mail, defenders Davinson Sanchez, Japhet Tanganga, Joe Rodon and Sergio Reguilon are set for loan or permanent move elsewhere – among others.
