Ange Postecoglou may soon have a resolution to the ongoing Harry Kane saga with Bayern Munich reportedly demanding an answer by midnight Friday.
The Telegraph reports that the European giants set Tottenham Hotspur the deadlin to accept their latest offer for the star striker.
If Spurs don’t accept the offer, it’s expected that Kane will see out the final year of his contract in North London this season.
Earlier this week Sky Sports reported that Bayern Munich and Tottenham appeared to be inching closer to an agreement on a record-breaking deal for the superstar striker.
Kane, who is the all-time top goalscorer for Spurs, is set to be offered a five-year deal with Munich reportedly willing to increase their offer from their previous bid of £81.7 million (A$160m).
That figure was already a Bundesliga transfer record but even that wasn’t enough according to
Kaveh Solhekol of Sky Sports, who reports Tottenham may still fall short of getting what it wants for Kane.
“Significantly our information is the maximum Bayern Munich are willing to offer for him is 100 million euros. That’s 90 million up front in installments of course and 10 million in potential add-ons,” Solhekol said on the Transfer Show.
“That comes to about £85 million. I think that’s at least 15 million short of what Spurs would want for the England captain.
“But as far as Bayern Munich is concerned, he’s a player who only has 12 months left on his contract so in January they could speak to him and get him to sign a pre-contract agreement for him to move to Bayern Munich for nothing next summer.”
The Sky Sports report claims “all sides are now confident” the Kane move will eventually be given the green light, ending months of speculation since he was first linked to Bayern.
Tottenham though are reportedly set to demand a buy-back clause be inserted into the contract should Kane decide to come back to the Premier League.
Paul Gilmour of Sky Sports, meanwhile, said Tottenham chairman needs to ask himself a number of questions when considering Kane’s future, including one on Postecoglou’s vision.
“The fact Kane won’t sign a new deal this summer will only increase the prospect of the England captain being on the move in the coming weeks,” said Gilmour.
“Add into the mix the fact Thomas Tuchel is obsessed with making this happen and Bayern doing everything possible to agree a suitable financial package with Spurs, the pendulum is swinging towards a departure.
“That said, we’re being told Kane is happy concentrating on his football with Tottenham and the option of extending his contract later in the season is not off the table.
“Daniel Levy will make one of the toughest decisions of his career in the weeks ahead. Does he believe there is a chance of a contract extension later in the season?
“Does he believe Ange Postecoglou and his players can play attacking football and look like trophy winners this early into the project?
“If the answer is ‘no’ to those key questions, then the Premier League is likely to lose one of the best goalscorers around, and Tottenham could use the money to help create balance in their playing squad.”
Those questions may also be the same ones Kane is asking himself, with the Evening Standard reporting there is a scenario where Kane could stay put and potentially even negotiate a contract extension with Tottenham.
That though could only happen if the team shows “significant progress on the pitch under Postecoglou” according to the report.
It is yet another reminder of what is important to Kane as he weighs up his future, having not won a trophy during his time at Tottenham despite taking home the Golden Boot three times.
The Evening Standard report also claims talks were held on Tuesday between Levy, Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen and Marco Neppe, their technical director.
These talks were described as “positive”, although Levy is said to be still hopeful of convincing Kane to stay at Spurs and sign a new deal.
KLOPP LAUGHS OFF MBAPPE LINK AS PSG ‘STANDOFF’ CONTINUES
Elsewhere, Jurgen Klopp has laughed off reports linking Liverpool to Kylian Mbappe.
The Paris Saint-Germain striker has refused to talk to officials from Al Hilal in a potentially serious roadblock to the Saudis’ hopes of making a world record 300-million ($A500m) euro move for him.
It is widely expected at this point that Mbappe will make the switch to Real Madrid next year, with suggestions he may have already struck a deal to finalise the move already.
That in turn has put PSG in a tricky position, wanting to move Mbappe on before losing him for free but having little leverage to work with in negotiations with rival clubs.
Liverpool has reportedly been floated as one of those potential suitors for Mbappe, while Premier League rivals Chelsea are also said to have shown interest in the 24-year-old.
Ask Liverpool manager Klopp though and he’s heard nothing about a potential move for Mbappe.
“We laugh about it,” Klopp told Sky Germany.
“I can say that I think he’s a really good player, but the financial conditions don’t suit us at all. I wouldn’t like to ruin the story now, but as far as I know there’s nothing to it.
“It’s possible that someone else from the club is preparing something and wants to surprise me … that hasn’t happened in the eight years that I’ve been here. That would be the first time.”
It is far from a laughing matter for PSG though, with Mbappe now pocketing a 60-million-euro ($A100m) loyalty bonus in instalments.
Mbappe is not expected to be loyal for long though, having missed the July 31 deadline to trigger an extension that would have kept him at the team until 2025.
“He’s still a PSG player today on the 1st of August. That means he gets a loyalty bonus, 60 million euros he’ll be picking up in installments,” Solhekol said on the ‘Transfer Show’.
“But as far as he’s concerned, nothing has changed. He’s still got a year left on his PSG contract, he will be going to train in Paris today as he’s been told to do with the other players who are unwanted at PSG and the standoff continues.
“He says I’m staying here until next summer and we know he’s going to go to Real Madrid then for nothing. PSG are saying we won’t allow that to happen, we’re going to force you off and sell you this summer.
“The only problem is everyone in the football world knows he’s going to Real Madrid next summer, so how much time are they going to waste trying to sign him with the transfer fee involved and his wages?”