Star striker Harry Kane will fly to Germany today for a medical at Bayern Munich following a last-minute holdup at Stansted.
The 30-year-old has been chased by the Bundesliga champions all summer before finally having a £104million bid accepted yesterday by Tottenham, his boyhood club. He is set to earn an estimated £400,000 a week.
In a dramatic last-minute twist, sources claimed Spurs had blocked Kane from boarding the plane while its chairman Daniel Levy – a notoriously tough negotiator – sought to reopen negotiations.
But the issues have now been resolved and Kane will leave early this afternoon to seal his move to the German giants almost five hours later than planned. He had been due to arrive in Munich at 10am local time.
Kane’s future has been a subject of fascination ever since 2021 when he first announced his intention to leave Tottenham to give him the chance of winning silverware – something that has repeatedly eluded the North London club.
His fate has attracted the attention of many with only a passing interest in football due to his status as England’s captain – and the national side’s all-time record goalscorer.
Kane’s repeated attempts to leave Tottenham have been one of English football’s longest running transfer sagas.
The striker first opened up on the issue in 2021, telling Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville that he’d informed Daniel Levy about his intention to walk away.
‘For sure, it’s a moment in my career where I have to kind of reflect and see where I’m at and have a good, honest conversation with the chairman,’ he said at the time.
That summer Kane was set to go to Manchester City on a reported £400,000-a-week contract, but the move never materialised.
He was the subject of interest from Manchester United earlier in the summer, but they opted instead to target less costly alternatives in a bid to stay within their transfer budget.
Levy is believed to value the striker closer to £120m, leading him to resist any deal below this level.
But he hand may have been forced by the fact that Kane is about to enter the final year of his Tottenham contract, meaning he would be free to leave for nothing in 12 months’ time.
Bayern were ecstatic when Spurs reported their offer for Kane, with executive board member Andreas Jung calling the moment ‘something special’ for the club.
‘It is the first time that we pay on that level for a player,’ he said.
‘For us, it is something special. It shows we are competitive with the others. We will have a team that has the chance to win in every competition.’
The Tottenham star’s future in north London has been the centre of debate this summer following weeks of negotiations between club chiefs.
After agreeing a £100million fee, Mail Sport revealed that talks between Bayern, Tottenham and Kane were taking place late into Thursday as they looked to finalise a deal.
There were hopes in Germany that Kane’s deal would be announced today and that the player would be officially unveiled prior to the German Super Cup tomorrow.
Mail Sport understands that Kane would have needed to be registered by 2pm (UK time) to play against RB Leipzig tomorrow, a deadline he is now unlikely to meet.
After the two parties struck a deal, Mail Sport revealed that contractual and financial points between Kane and Tottenham were still being concluded on Thursday, while issues related to the distribution of intermediary fees were also being ironed out.
Bayern have been very public in their pursuit of Kane, with honorary president Uli Hoeness and chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen both commenting on the striker.
It has left Kane in an uncomfortable situation and frustrated Tottenham in the process.
Rumours Kane was about to move to Bayern intensified late last month when his pregnant wife Katie Goodland was spotted scouting for homes in the city, according to local media.
Earlier this week, a new report claimed that the club had already secured a luxury villa for him in Grunwald, a millionaire’s enclave of Grunwald to the south of the city.
The secluded town, dubbed the ‘Bavarian Hollywood’ is ranked as Germany’s wealthiest municipality.
And if Kane does accept Bayern’s offer of the luxury village, the family will be settling in with the club’s current winger, Leroy Sane, and its former chairman, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich also moved into the posh suburb recently, according to Bild.
Grünwald properties currently available include a Bauhaus villa, with a home cinema, sauna, jacuzzi, outdoor and indoor swimming pools with a sprawling garden.
Another six-bed property, going for £5.5million features a fireplace, indoor pool, sauna, spa and home gym.
While some homes appear to be flash, white mansions, looking as though they belong in California’s Beverly Hills, others homes seem to be inspired by Alpine chalets, with roofs that appear to look thatched.
Some designs on the Meleven development, priced at £18million, are described as ‘art lovers’ homes’, kitted out with wooden beams, glass ceilings and plush gardens.
The town, which is located 12km southeast of Munich, is Germany’s third largest city.
While full of glitz and glam, it is perhaps best known for Oktoberfest, a 16-day bacchanal of beer, bangers and brass bands.
Despite its name the festival actually begins in September, and now attracts six million visitors to the city.
Footballers at Bayern are also among those the festival attracts onto the streets, with stars including Thomas Mueller, Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry and Leon Goretzka all making appearances in recent years.
Last year the entire team dressed in traditional Lederhosen to get into the Bavarian spirit for a photoshoot.