Bayern Munich might have made a costly mistake in their pursuit of Tottenham striker Harry Kane.
Thomas Tuchel’s side see the England captain as the perfect choice to replace Robert Lewandowski, a year on since the Polish striker’s legendary stint ended with a move to Barcelona.
Reports this week have suggested that Tuchel held secret talks with the 29-year-old at his home in London.
The Spurs superstar, who has just a year left on his contract in north London, reportedly told Tuchel he would like to team up with the Bundesliga champions and fight for trophies in Bavaria next season.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is said to be furious with Tuchel over the approach for his star player. German outlet BILD claim Levy is keen to make the Bundesliga giants ‘bleed’ and is primed to reject an £85m offer – after already rejecting a lower bid of £60m.
Reports suggested that Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel spoke to Harry Kane at his London home over a potential move to the Bundesliga champions during the summer window
Bayern might have made a mistake in their approach for Kane, with Spurs chief Daniel Levy – famously tough in negotiations – reportedly furious over the talks between the two parties
Levy right has built up a reputation as one of the most difficult owners to deal with when it comes to transfers
So with that, Bayern Munich could potentially be added to the list of clubs that the stubborn Spurs owner refuses to do business with.
Levy is known to be one of the most ruthless negotiators in the business, with Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson famously stating that dealing with the Spurs owner was ‘more painful than hip surgery’.
This was due to the hard time that he had in getting Spurs to sell Dimitar Berbatov to the Old Trafford club back in 2008. On that occasion United got their man, but Levy submitted a complaint to the Premier League over the Red Devils ‘systematically working to prise the player away from the club’.
It’s perhaps no surprise that no player has moved between Tottenham and Manchester United since Berbatov’s move to Old Trafford.
That’s despite United’s interest in Kane, with the Red Devils determined to sign a striker during the summer transfer window. However, Levy is determined not to sell Kane, and particularly not to a Premier League rival.
Though with Bayern Munich in Levy’s bad books and with no sign that Real Madrid are set to make a move imminently – it means the Tottenham owner is risking the very real possibility that the player they value to be at least £100m could leave for nothing in 12 months time.
It’s a big gamble for Levy to take, as selling Kane would give Spurs a better chance of rebuilding the squad in life after the club’s all-time record scorer.
But Levy will hope that Spurs can do enough under new boss Ange Postecoglou to persuade the striker to put pen to paper on a new deal and show his loyalty to the club. Mail Sport learned earlier this year that Levy has never forgiven himself for allowing Kyle Walker to leave the club.
Sir Alex Ferguson described his dealings with Levy as ‘more painful than hip surgery’ – years after he endured tough negotiations to sign Dimitar Berbatov (right) back in 2008
Luka Modric said he ‘resented’ Levy over his transfer saga involving Chelsea back in 2011
Kane was frustrated Tottenham didn’t sell him to Man City in 2021, and the Spurs striker might have to play out the remainder of his contract before he can leave the club next year
Walker joined Man City for £45m in 2017 and he has been one of the best right-backs in world football since his move to the Etihad winning countless trophies – including a famous Treble in the season just gone.
As a result, Levy has vowed never to sell to a Manchester club again in an effort to avoid making the same mistake.
This policy has represented a major obstacle in both Manchester club’s pursuit of Walker’s England team mate Kane.
Two years ago, Man City’s held a real interest in signing Kane in what promised to be the blockbuster move of the summer window of 2021.
Pep Guardiola revealed that his side were knocked back four times by Tottenham, as Levy stood strong on a £150m valuation of Kane. It led to the striker accusing Levy of broken promises after failing to get his desired move.
Things eventually worked out for City with the signings of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez boosting their forward line.
It was a blow for Kane though, as it was well publicised the Tottenham striker wanted to leave the club that summer, having not won a trophy during his time at the club.
Two years on and Tottenham still have not won a trophy, despite initial optimism that former manager Antonio Conte could break the duck with it being 15 years since they won the League Cup.
Pep Guardiola made four approaches for Kane but failed to persuade Levy to sell up and instead went on to sign Erling Haaland one year later
Kyle Walker became one of the best right backs in the world after leaving Tottenham and because of this Levy has vowed to never sell to a Manchester club again
It isn’t just the Manchester clubs that Levy is stubborn with in the Premier League.
He famously blocked Luka Modric’s proposed move to Chelsea in the summer of 2011. The Croatian midfielder had to wait a year to leave the club, joining Real Madrid for £40m.
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Writing in his book, ‘Luka Modric: My Autobiography,’ serialised by the Guardian, the 37-year-old revealed how he resented Levy for stopping his move.
‘[Levy] reprimanded me for publicly announcing I wanted to leave and repeated that Tottenham had no intention of selling at any price.
‘A stressful period followed. The media analysed my status daily; Tottenham fans, understandably, resented that I wanted to leave. On the other hand, Harry Redknapp showed understanding for my situation in his public appearances.
‘But my head just wasn’t there, so I handed in an official transfer request. Chelsea kept coming back with improved offers after Levy’s every rejection. All of this aggravated me.
‘Despite all the turbulence, I always had a good relationship with Levy. He was the one who brought me to Tottenham – for a record fee in the club’s history. That only showed how highly he thought of me. However, I resented him because on a couple of occasions he had promised to let me move to a bigger club and then broke his promise. For me, one’s promise and one’s word are more important than anything.
‘I had proven myself as a player. I didn’t know where I would go from Tottenham. I didn’t know if and when Levy would agree to sell me. But I was convinced it was time to move on, to a new and bigger challenge.’
Levy is not keen on selling to his rival clubs but risks the chance of losing Kane to one of those very teams next year if the Spurs striker doesn’t sign a new contract
Modric did get his move and things ultimately worked out for him, becoming one of the most successful players in history with 23 pieces of silverware and a Ballon d’Or to his name during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Kane, who turns 30 this month, will know his chances of winning trophies is running out, but Levy’s positioning as defender of Tottenham’s best interests knows no limits to its extremities.
There is eight weeks to go until the end of the transfer window, and eight weeks for a club like Bayern Munich to try and do the unthinkable of persuading Levy to sell their star man.
But history tells us that Bayern Munich’s best chance might be to wait and hope that Kane wants to leave the club come January, and then try and sign him on a pre-contract agreement.
Levy though could might have to suffer the sight of seeing his star player representing a club in the Premier League with whom he would never do business.
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