Harry Kane is in Germany to seal his move to Bayern Munich in a deal that could rise to £120million.
Tottenham’s record goalscorer landed in Munich on Friday night for a medical ahead of his transfer to the Bundesliga giants.
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou had revealed earlier in the day that the move was “imminent” after a breakthrough in negotiations between the clubs was reached on Wednesday night.
It left the ball in Kane’s court and he decided on Thursday to leave his boyhood club for Bayern, who will pay an initial £100m with add-ons potentially taking the deal up to an overall fee of £120m, the PA news agency understands.
Reports on Friday morning initially suggested Spurs had refused to give Kane permission to travel to Germany, but they were squashed by Tottenham and hours later he set off for Munich via a private jet from London Stansted airport.
Postecoglou, speaking before Spurs’ trip to Brentford on Sunday, said: “Fair to say I don’t have a blow-by-blow account, but my understanding is it has progressed to the point where it looks like it will happen.
“From that perspective, at least it gives us some clarity and we move forward without Harry.
“From my perspective it is just about understanding where we are at and the information I have at the moment is the deal is imminent but, like with all these things, you leave yourself some leeway.
“But moving forward and training today preparing for Brentford, we are doing it 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.
“I am only new in the building, but (it is) fairly evident Harry Kane will always be one of the greats for this football club.”
It remains to be seen whether the deal will be done in time for Kane to play any part in Bayern’s DFB Super Cup match with RB Leipzig on Saturday night.
However, with the clash taking place at Bayern’s Allianz Arena home, the England captain could well be unveiled to supporters before kick-off.
Bayern saw bids for Kane, who is in the last 12 months of his contract at Spurs, reportedly turned down in June and July but they made their intentions clear, with honorary president Uli Hoeness and president Herbert Hainer speaking openly in the media about the player’s desire to join the Bundesliga champions.
A third bid was submitted last Friday and Spurs spent all weekend deliberating before chairman Daniel Levy rejected the offer on Monday.
With noises coming out that Kane, who scored four goals in a friendly win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday, had enjoyed working with Postecoglou, confidence started to grow that he could spend the season with his boyhood team.
But Bayern’s latest bid proved enough for an agreement to be reached and, after taking his time to weigh up the decision, Kane decided to end his 19-year stay at Spurs.
It means his pursuit of Alan Shearer’s Premier League scoring record will be put on hold, with the Tottenham forward still 47 goals off equalling Shearer’s tally of 260.
However, the move will almost guarantee him the first major trophies of his career, as well as giving him a shot at Champions League glory.
Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel has been a long-term admirer of Kane but was coy when asked about the forward ahead of Saturday’s match with Leipzig.
Tuchel told a press conference: “We are working with full pressure on this deal.
“I understand there are a lot of ifs and whens. All options are open. The first is to have him as a player and at the moment he is not yet that.
“This is a big deal. We are trying to take the England captain away from the Premier League.”
'Everything that could go wrong, did' - McGinn reflects on Olympiacos defeat
Aston Villa captain, John McGinn said that “everything that could have gone wrong, did” after their Europa Conference League semi-final first-leg defeat to Olympiacos on Thursday.
Ayoub El Kaabi scored a hat-trick for Olympiacos, netting twice in the first half, though Villa fought back through Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby.
El Kaabi converted a spot-kick before a deflected Santiago Hezze strike put the visitors back in control.
Douglas Luiz also missed a late penalty, leaving Villa with a two-goal deficit to overturn in the second leg next Thursday.
Asked what he felt went wrong for the Villans, McGinn, speaking to TNT Sports, said: "Not the game we wanted. We wanted a lot more control. We started the game well.
"They're a good side. We wanted a victory going to Greece. We showed we're capable of coming back.
"Mistakes all round tonight. We'll take responsibility, but it's up to us to go to Athens and turn it around because we're capable.
"They played very well tactically. They played the way we expected, so there were no surprises.
"Everything that could have gone wrong tonight did."
He added: "The manager was still positive in there. There's still a long way to go.
"We need to play a lot better than we did tonight, but we're more than capable of doing it.
"Hopefully we'll have a few players back. The onus is on us to attack Olympiacos and score some goals.
"We have a mountain to climb, but we know we're capable."
O'Hara announces retirement from football
Two-time Women’s World Cup winner, Kelley O’Hara has announced that she will retire from football at the end of the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) season.
Between 2011 and 2023, she played in four Women’s World Cups, becoming just the 12th US player to reach that landmark, and three Olympic Games, winning a gold medal in 2012.
The 35-year-old finished her international career with 160 caps, scoring three goals, including a winner in the semi-final en route to winning the Women’s World Cup in 2015, and assisting 21.
She also won three championships, one in the now-defunct Women’s Professional Soccer and two in the NWSL, helping NJ/NY Gotham FC to their first title last season.
O’Hara said: "It has been one of the greatest joys to represent my country and to wear the U.S. Soccer crest."
"As I close this chapter of my life, I am filled with gratitude. Looking back on my career I am so thankful for all the things I was able to accomplish but most importantly the people I was able to accomplish them with."
Atlanta United v Minnesota United: Five Stripes not concerned by winless run
Atlanta United are not concerned by their winless run in MLS, so says Caleb Wiley.
The Five Stripes have not won in four MLS games, ahead of a home meeting with Minnesota United on Saturday.
Wiley, however, believes Atlanta’s attacking play has been such that it is only a matter of time until results start turning.
“It will come,” said Wiley. “We are creating so many chances. I know it is frustrating, but the goals will come. We are not worried because we have the talent to do that [score goals].
“We know that it is still early in the season. We still have a lot more games to go. We have so much more to learn. That is what we are all excited about; that is what I am excited about for this team. We have so much more to do, and to show everybody.”
Looking ahead to this weekend’s fixture, Atlanta coach Gonzalo Pineda said: “We have watched all the games.
“We have prepared tactically for whatever lineup or structure they present. So, it is about our principles and how we play. How we can balance their backline, and how we can create enough chances for our attacking players to be near the goal line.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Atlanta United – Thiago Almada
Almada has 11 goals and 13 assists in regular-season home matches since the start of last season, one of two players (Luciano Acosta) with at least 10 goals and 10 assists in home matches in that time.
Minnesota United – Robin Lod
Lod has recorded an assist in four straight matches, equalling Darwin Quintero (2018—19) for the longest regular-season streak in Minnesota United’s history. He is the first Loons’ player to do so within a single season.
MATCH PREDICTION: ATLANTA UNITED WIN
Atlanta’s eight-match home unbeaten run in all competitions (W6 D2) ended with a 2-1 loss to FC Cincinnati on April 20. Atlanta have lost consecutive home matches in all competitions in nearly three years, since losing to New England and Columbus in July 2021.
The Five Stripes have won four of five all-time meetings with Minnesota (L1). The Loons’ lone victory was a 3—2 win at Atlanta in October 2017.
However, Minnesota are off to the best start in club history with 17 points from their first nine matches of the season. The Loons have won three of their four road matches (L1) after winning only three of their final 14 regular-season away matches in 2023 (D2 L9).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Atlanta United – 47.7%
Minnesota United – 25.2%
Draw – 27.1%
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