Transfer news expert Ben Jacobs has given some exclusive insight into the Harry Kane situation just before he finally ended up completing his move to Bayern Munich.
Writing exclusively for CaughtOffside’s Substack, Jacobs explained that the reports about Kane leaning towards staying at Tottenham in the build-up to his eventual transfer to Bayern may not have been entirely what they seemed.
Obviously Kane did ultimately end up leaving Spurs for Bayern, but it would have been understandable if he’d had last minute doubts about leaving the club he’d been at for his entire career.
Still, Jacobs says this may have been a bit of a misunderstanding as it was more the case that Kane wanted his future resolved before the start of the new Premier League season, which was perhaps interpreted by some as meaning he was leaning towards staying because a move was taking a while to materialise.
It seems, however, that Kane was eager for a new challenge, and Bayern always seemed confident he wanted to join them.
“Just before Harry Kane left for Bayern Munich there was talk he was leaning towards staying at Spurs. I think that came from Kane wanting to resolve his future before the Premier League started and time running out,” Jacobs said.
“But as Daniel Levy has revealed now, Kane made it clear he wanted a new challenge, and that’s consistent with Bayern saying pretty publicly throughout the saga he wanted to join.
“In the end, dealing with Levy was perhaps not as painful as Bayern had anticipated. Levy played a few games, delaying a key meeting and withholding Kane’s permission to fly on the morning of his move. But Spurs were put in a weaker position by the fact Kane wanted to leave, and with his contract running down it made sense to sell.
“That said, Levy still got a great deal. Although there are some reports of the total package being around £100m, with add-ons included, I am told it’s actually slightly higher.”