Harry Kane close to sealing transfer to Bayern Munich from Tottenham
England captain Harry Kane’s transfer from Tottenham to Bayern Munich is "imminent," Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou said Friday, in a deal that will reportedly be worth more than $110 million.
"My understanding is it has progressed to the point where it looks like it’s going to happen," Postecoglou said of what would be a record transfer for the Bundesliga and one of the biggest deals of the summer transfer window.
The 30-year-old Kane is expected to undergo medical tests in Germany on Friday, per multiple reports, and could potentially make his debut Saturday, when Bayern hosts Leipzig in the German Super Cup.
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel said his club is still "working hard" to sign Kane.
"We are working with the highest pressure and highest focus and highest priority to sign Harry Kane," Tuchel said. "And this shows the importance. I mean, we are trying to get the captain of the English national team out of England, out of the Premier League. That says it all."
Kane, who is the second highest-scoring player in Premier League history with 213 goals, was entering the last year of his contract at Spurs and could have left as a free agent in 2024. That put pressure on Tottenham to sell him this summer.
The departure of Kane would leave a hole in the squad ahead of its first game of the new season, against Brentford on Sunday. It would require a deep rebuild in a team which is already reeling from the failure to qualify for any European competition this season, but Postecoglou said he had been preparing for that and that Kane’s imminent departure "at least gives us some clarity."
"We have been planning for this, it’s fair to say, for a while," Postecoglou said. "This doesn’t change things dramatically from my perspective anyway for what we are trying to build."
Postecoglou, who joined Tottenham in the offseason, said he hadn’t attempted to change Kane’s mind.
"I had a conversation with Harry the first day I arrived and he was up front and honest, and I was the same," he said. "You kind of get an indication there that he had made up his mind that if the clubs agreed, that he would go.
"There is nothing that has been along the way that has sort of made my feel there was anything other than this outcome."
Kane reached the Champions League final with Tottenham in 2019. However, he has never lifted a major trophy at the club and the team's progress has stalled.
The three-time Premier League top scorer could be the key to revitalizing Bayern, which lacked a focused goal-scoring threat through the center last season after Robert Lewandowski left for Barcelona.
Bayern needed goal difference to beat Borussia Dortmund to the German title on the final day of a turbulent season in which its top Bundesliga scorer was Serge Gnabry with 14 goals. Two years ago, Lewandowski scored a record 41 goals.
However, there will be pressure to succeed immediately. Bayern's last high-profile signing from the Premier League, Sadio Mané, was widely considered a flop after his arrival from Liverpool a year ago.
Mané's departure for Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr and the sale of defender Lucas Hernández to Paris Saint-Germain helped to free up funds to sign Kane.
Kane's move is also a symbolic moment for the England team, whose players are generally reluctant to leave the riches of the Premier League.
No permanent England captain has played for a club outside England since David Beckham at Real Madrid in 2006. England's squad for its most recent games was entirely Premier League-based after Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham withdrew injured.
Kane has long been linked with Manchester United. However, United didn't want to be drawn into protracted negotiations with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and opted for a younger option in Rasmus Hojlund, who joined for an initial 64 million pounds ($82 million) last week.
Leipzig coach Marco Rose offered his congratulations if the German champion succeeds in signing Kane.
"We can all look forward to having a world-class player like that in the Bundesliga," he said Friday.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
