The top transfer from Harry Kane to FC Bayern is difficult. This is mainly due to Tottenham’s Daniel Levy. There is optimism in Munich at the moment – but the longer the transfer drags on, the greater the risk.
Long gone are the days when FC Bayern secretly and quietly handled their transfers. There is hardly a negotiation, not even a consideration that not a few moments later somehow finds its way to the public. And yet the people of Munich have the right to make player changes as quick and straightforward as possible. That’s how things went for Raphael Guerreiro this summer, and that’s likely how it will be for defender Min-jae Kim as well.
And those responsible at FC Bayern also have this hope for star striker Harry Kane. The “Münchner Merkur” reports that there is great optimism in the management level that an agreement will soon be reached with Tottenham Hotspur. Internally, there is currently talk of a breakthrough in the negotiations.
Tottenham’s Daniel Levy – The Incarnate ‘No’
However, the English media are much more pessimistic. The “Guardian” reports a new contract offer from Tottenham to the 29-year-old center forward, whose contract expires next year. And the bookmakers also consider FC Bayern to be Kane’s most likely destination – but the clear odds favorite is staying in England.
The main reason why people in England do not believe in Kane moving to Bayern Munich has a name: Daniel Levy – 61 years old, President and majority owner of Spurs. Levy is something like “No” incarnate. As soon as any club stretches out its fingers for a top player in its club, it opposes it. The Briton is considered the toughest negotiating partner in European football and has caused frustration and despair among the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson and Florentino Perez.
Ferguson: Levy trial ‘more painful than a new hip joint’
Manchester United legend Ferguson described the negotiations with Tottenham about player Dimitar Berbatov as “more painful than a new hip joint”. The reason is Levy’s negotiation tactics: as soon as the interested club feels confident that the deal will be completed soon, Levy suddenly demands significantly more money than what he had previously asked for.
“The negotiations were very difficult and dragged on forever,” Ferguson wrote in his biography of a similar experience involving Michael Carrick. “Every time I thought everything was done, I got a call with new demands. Typical Daniel Levy!” And Real Madrid President Florentino Perez is likely to report something similar. Gareth Bale’s transfer to the Royals dragged on for more than a year. In the end, it took a clear sign from Bale, who was on a golf course near the Spanish capital instead of at the start of Tottenham’s training session – and the record sum of 101 million euros at the time to manage the transfer.
Kane needs to force a change
Levy himself sees nothing reprehensible in his negotiating tactics: “I’m only acting in the best interests of my club. If you really don’t want to sell a player, you have every right to say no. You have the rights,” he once told the Cambridge Union . And it’s very clear that Levy would most like to keep Harry Kane, one of the best players in the club’s history.
What should encourage FC Bayern: The same was true for Bale, Carrick and Berbatov. Levy himself explained what it takes to turn a no into a yes: “It depends on the character of the player whether you can keep him in a situation like that. It’s still a team sport at the end of the day.” So Kane would have to force his departure, like Lewandowski did at Bayern a year ago, which those responsible in Munich didn’t like very much. But Kane is considered a model professional. A player who can be expected to give his all even if Tottenham stays.
Negotiating with Levy: It’s all about power
It is therefore also important what Levy says: “If there is a transfer, everything depends on the distribution of power.” That could give FC Bayern courage. Because Kane’s contract is up. And even more annoying than losing your best player is losing your best player for free for Tottenham too. Kane is currently making no move to extend his working paper at Tottenham again. So the balance of power is not quite as unequal as last year, when Manchester City went after Kane and finally gave up in exasperation, according to reports, at a price of 150 million euros.
A third quality that makes Levy so uncomfortable as a negotiating partner – or rather an opponent in negotiations: if he has brought himself to sell a player against the club’s will, he lets the absorbing club suffer. Real Madrid and Bale had to wait until the day before the end of the transfer window to report completion. At Berbatov, Levy even let Manchester United flounder until a few hours before the deadline.
FC Bayern and Kane: a race against time
FC Bayern must prevent this at all costs. Because Munich absolutely needs a new striker. If a Kane transfer drags on for a long time, not only would the balance of power shift further towards Tottenham with each passing day and possibly drive up the price. A hanging game would also jeopardize the sporting goals of FC Bayern. Last season showed just how urgently Munich need a world-class center forward. If the deal with Tottenham finally bursts, in all probability none of the B solutions would be available and Thomas Tuchel would have a squad available that would hardly win the Champions League.
So it’s no wonder that FC Bayern is relying on Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in the difficult negotiations. The returnee to the FC Bayern supervisory board is considered to be one of the best-connected sports officials in European football. But the same is said about Ferguson and Perez. The optimism that currently prevails in the management of FC Bayern could soon be dampened again.
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