Harry Kane is ready to conclude his move to Bayern Munich and bring an end to his 19-year stay at Tottenham.
Bayern had a bid that could be worth almost £100m accepted for the striker on Thursday but were left sweating over whether the transfer would go ahead. Kane was weighing up whether to move to Germany and there was a chance of him deciding to stay at Spurs for another year, even though his contract expires next summer.
After a day of further talks, however, it is understood Kane has decided to join the German champions. The England captain, who is Thomas Tuchel’s top target, has been given permission to undergo a medical and is expected to sign a four-year deal.
Quick GuideHow do I sign up for sport breaking news alerts?
Show
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sport notifications.
The deal was held up by Spurs renegotiating elements of the fee at a late stage. The issues are understood to have been resolved and Kane was expected to fly to Munich on Friday afternoon.
Tottenham offered the 30-year-old a new contract that would double his £200,000-a-week terms and their chairman, Daniel Levy, turned down several bids from Bayern before accepting a fee that smashes the Bundesliga club’s €80m transfer record. Bayern are understood to have matched the £400,000-a-week wages offered by Spurs.
Ange Postecoglou, the Spurs manager, described the move as “imminent” and said: “It gives us some clarity and we move forward 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.”
The deal has not taken him by surprise. “We’ve been planning for this for a while,” he said. “It doesn’t take too much investigative work to realise this was going to happen. This doesn’t change things dramatically – there is still movement in the squad. But that’s not because Harry’s gone, it was always in the plan.”
Tuchel said, while emphasising the transfer was not completed: “This is a big deal. We are trying to take the England captain away from the Premier League.”
Spurs do not intend to spend the whole Kane fee on a striker. Postecoglou is prepared to give Richarlison, who had a disappointing first season at the club, an opportunity in a central role and would like to bring in versatile players who can play across the front three. Brennan Johnson, the Nottingham Forest winger, is a target.