Bayern Munich Hope To Conclude $100 Million Transfer Saga

Bayern Munich was just about to disembark on their journey to Japan when technical director Marco Neppe received a phone call and then chose not to take the flight. The scenario was the same for CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen. Multiple reports in Germany then indicated that both decision makers are set to remain in Europe to lead discussions with Tottenham for star striker Harry Kane.

Indeed, it feels like one way or another, Bayern and Tottenham Hotspur are entering the final stage of the transfer saga involving the England captain. Bild, in fact, reported that the meeting between Dreesen and Daniel Levy to hammer out a deal for Kane will take place as early as this Friday.

Conveniently, just as talks seem to go to the final stage, rumors emerged out of England that Tottenham could favor selling Kane to Paris Saint-Germain. The Qatari-owned club made headlines this week by leaving out Kylian Mbappé for their tour to Asia. Mbappé is now for sale, with one Saudi Arabian club reportedly offering €300 million ($330 million) to sign the French star.

Whether Mbappé will head to Saudi or elsewhere is a different story, however. What is convenient for Tottenham chairman Levy is the timing, as reports out of England indicated that he could now attempt to sell Kane to the Ligue 1 champions instead. A plan that could be difficult to set in motion as Kane seemingly has made up his mind about his next step, which is to join Bayern Munich this summer.

Munich-based newspaper TZ reported on the weekend that Katie Goodland, Harry Kane’s wife, was in Munich in the past few days scouting out properties and international schools in the city ahead of her husband’s potential move to Bayern. Although this seems a trivial detail, Munich is not a city like London, and the local papers are usually very much in tune when it comes to small details like a player’s wife scouting for a house or a school.

Another indicator was Uli Hoeneß’s comments about Kane just last week. The former manager and president spoke bullishly about Kane potentially joining the club in the near future. “He has very clearly signaled that his decision was made,” Hoeneß said following a test match last week. “If he keeps his word, we’ll get him. [Board member] Karl-Heinz Rummenigge speaks to him regularly.”

Publicly, Bayern’s other board members were less than pleased about Hoeneß’s comments. Both head coach Thomas Tuchel and Dreesen would later say that the grass doesn’t grow faster when one pulls on it.

But what is said publicly and what happens internally at Bayern is often a completely different beast. In other words, Hoeneß would not have said what he said if he had a strong sense of optimism that this deal could be done. After all, the former Bayern boss had been there before signing former Tottenham star Jürgen Klinsmann in the mid-1990s in what was a very similar transfer saga.

The Hoeneß statements and Neppe and Dreesen staying behind, therefore, means that Bayern now has entered the final phase. Tottenham, too, knows that this is decision time, and the PSG rumors are likely just a final attempt to drive up the price for Kane.

And that final price will be steep. Although out of contract next summer, Kane will cost over €100 million ($110 million). A sum that has only been paid for 15 players in the history of the game, and only one other player on that list was over 30: Cristiano Ronaldo. It would also be the first time that Bayern would pay a fee for that category, but after years of seeing other top clubs break into the eight-digit category, Germany’s record champions seem ready to break the bank for a star striker.

Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth and on Threads: @manuveth