The deal, after days of dillydallying, is finally done. Harry Kane is parting ways with Tottenham Hotspur, his boyhood club, to seek a career at Bayern Munich.
Late on Friday, pictures and videos of Kane at the London airport and after landing in Munich were shared on social media. The striker, who is likely to sign a four-year deal, headed straight for a medical.
It is being speculated that Kane can make his Bayern debut as early as Saturday, when the club hosts Leipzig in the German Super Cup.
That Kane was set to leave Tottenham was clear earlier in the day when their manager, Ange Postecoglou, said that the Premier League club was planning for a future without the England captain.
The 30-year-old Kane, Tottenham’s record goalscorer, is set for a Bundesliga record 100 million euro ($109.78 million) deal with Bayern.
“My understanding is that it’s progressed to the point where it looks like it’s going to happen,” Postecoglou told reporters ahead of his side’s Premier League match at Brentford on Sunday.
“From that perspective, it gives us some clarity that barring something unforeseen happens, we move forward without Harry.”
Bayern’s desperation to get Kane was also evident from Thomas Tuchel’s words.
“We are trying to get the captain of the English national team out of England, out of the Premier League,” the Bayern manager said earlier on Friday. “That says it all. It is a huge deal that we are working on, a huge signature that we are working on.”
Postecoglou, who took over at Spurs in June, said Kane had indicated on day one that he wanted to leave after 19 years with the club and the manager had not tried to convince him to stay.
“You kind of get an indication there that he had kind of made up his mind that if the clubs agreed, that he would go,” he explained.
“There’s been nothing along the way that’s made me feel there’s anything other than this outcome.
“Whatever I was going to say wasn’t going to be relevant to how he felt, being here for the last month. I could plan this grand vision but I’m sure he’s heard it all before.”
Tottenham finished a disappointing eighth in the league last season, out of the European places, while Bayern are in the Champions League.
Postecoglou said Tottenham had Kane’s departure in mind for some time, so “this doesn’t change things dramatically from my perspective, in terms of what we’re trying to build.
“Our whole strategy has been around the fact that Harry wasn’t going to be around, more than likely. So it’s not like we’ve had a pow-wow this morning and what do we do? We knew it was coming.”
The Australian paid tribute to Kane and said his record spoke for itself. “I’m only new in the building, mate. I’m certainly not a spokesperson for this football club in the sense of proclaiming people’s status, but I think it’s fairly evident Harry Kane will always be one of the greats.
“It’s only fair on a day like today (Friday) that our supporters do have a sense of mourning and loss, as despite the lack of success at the club, he’s been a hero to them.”
Postecoglou hinted that there could be some more movement from the club.
“I think some players will seek opportunities elsewhere and there’s still three or so weeks to go in the transfer window.”
With inputs from Reuters
