Bayern Munich’s board member for sport, Max Eberl, was disarmingly blasé about the transfer speculation building around Harry Kane, insisting that the decision was up to the striker himself.
Kane’s future has been cast in a thin veil of uncertainty since the reported emergence of a release clause in the forward’s contract. German outlets suggest that the prolific England captain could be available for €65 million (£56.8 million, $76.4 million) next summer if he confirms his desire to leave.
This has sparked a burst of links with a return to the Premier League. Manchester United have long been tipped to make a move for the talismanic striker while Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank openly admitted that he “would like to see Kane back” in north London.
Few would turn down a centre forward with Kane’s scoring record, but Eberl didn’t offer a great deal of reassurance that Bayern would be able to hang on to a player who still has two years left on his deal.
“He’s old enough to make his own decisions,” Eberl said of the 32-year-old, “whether it’s a clause or no clause, whatever—if he says he wants to make a decision, then he’ll make it, as he showed at Tottenham.”
However, the transfer strategist did clarify Bayern’s preferred outcome: “Our wish is, of course, to be very, very successful with Harry this season and in the future!”
Manager Vincent Kompany unexpectedly shared the same opinion of his team’s perennial top scorer. “He’s in a very good phase right now,” the Belgian boss, who faced Kane five times as a player, gushed. “And the last thing I want to do is open the door to another discussion.
“The one thing I always see is that he still has that hunger to win titles. And he can do that at Bayern. That’s the only focus.”
