Harry Kane wanted Man United move and Erik ten Hag wanted Kane… so how did the England captain end up in Munich rather than Manchester?

• Harry Kane has made a stunning start to life in Germany with Bayern Munich
• But, he was keen on a move to Man United and Erik ten Hag wanted to sign him
• There’s a lot of anger at Man United – it’s them against the world! Listen to It’s All Kicking Off 

Any day now, it’s said that Harry Kane will move out of his luxury suite at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in the middle of Munich and take up permanent residence in a palatial villa in Baierbrunn, a wealthy suburb south of the city close to the Isar river.

This is a well-known property that was once home to Bayern Munich defender Lucas Hernandez and hosted some rather memorable parties. Mehmet Scholl is another notable inhabitant. Actor and film director Matthias Schweighoefer is supposed to have filmed one of his movies there.

Bayern used to be known as FC Hollywood in Germany and this would be a fitting place for Kane to call home with his wife Kate and their four children – Ivy, Vivienne, Louis and Henry – after so long living on his own in a hotel.

The England captain is set to become the most famous resident of them all, having gained superstar status since moving to Bayern from Tottenham in August in a deal worth up to £120million.

A total of 22 goals and seven assists in 19 games is a sizeable repayment on Bayern’s investment.

Harry Kane has made a stunning start at Bayern Munich, scoring 22 goals in 19 just matches

He’s gained superstar status since joining Bayern from Tottenham in a deal worth up to £120m

Eighteen of those goals have come in the Bundesliga, putting ‘King Kane’ on course to score 51 for the season which would eclipse the 41 set by his predecessor Robert Lewandowski and 40 by Bayern legend Gerd Muller in 1972.

Records are falling by the week and as he returns to England on Monday for a Champions League tie at Old Trafford, Manchester United fans could be forgiven for wishing Kane was wearing a different shade of red this season with Bayern runaway leaders of Group A and United’s hopes of progressing to the knockout stage hanging by a thread.

Ultimately it was Bayern who got their man and are now reaping the rewards. This is the story of how Kane ended up in Munich and not Manchester.

Erik ten Hag wanted to sign Harry Kane and Kane wanted to sign for Manchester United. Simple as that. It was a match made in heaven and one that made total sense.

Sometimes the planets don’t quite align, however, and for that United would blame Tottenham chief Daniel Levy.

Levy was under pressure from Spurs owner Joe Lewis to sell Kane who only had a year left on his contract and was making it clear that he wasn’t going to sign a new one.

Levy told United that he wouldn’t sell Tottenham’s crown jewel to a Premier League rival and they had every reason to take him seriously considering his reputation as a formidable negotiator.

United feared that Levy might string them along throughout the summer until the last days of the transfer window and then pull the plug, leaving them high and dry.

In a world without Financial Fair Play rules, they might have risked it. But with a restricted budget, they couldn’t hold off on deals for Mason Mount and Andre Onana while entering into protracted negotiations with Levy.

Having signed Casemiro and Antony late in Ten Hag’s first window in charge a year earlier, United wanted their key signings in early.

They felt Mount was a now or never deal as he entered the final year of his contract at Chelsea. Onana was a necessity after Ten Hag made the bold decision to jettison David de Gea. Buying a new goalkeeper also ended any thoughts of signing two strikers after United considered bidding for Kane and Brighton’s £55m-rated Evan Ferguson.

Was here any guarantee that Levy would have sold Kane to United for the same price that Bayern got him?

And then there was the issue of Kane’s wages. ‘It was Cristiano Ronaldo money,’ says one source close to the deal. It’s understood that Kane’s salary in Munich is £500,000, including signing-on fee and bonuses.

But Erik ten Hag wanted to sign Harry Kane and Kane wanted to sign for Manchester United

United were put off by dealing with Daniel Levy and the player turning 30 in the summer

United considered it a lot of money for a player who turned 30 in the summer and would have little resale value at the end of his contract.

Could they have tried harder? Called Levy’s bluff? Hoped for Kane to agitate for a move to Old Trafford?

Maybe. But the decision was made quite early in the window to kill their interest, and the possibility of a bid for Kane was never revisited.

He had even been willing to see out the remaining year of his contract at Spurs so he could join United next summer. But the moment United signed Rasmus Hojlund, Kane knew that Bayern were the only club for him. He moved to Bavaria a week later.

United wanted to act quickly and, ironically, Spurs were emerging as rivals to sign Hojlund using the £100m-plus they were expecting to bank for Kane.

Paris Saint-Germain, having expressed an interest in Kane and Hojlund, had already moved on to Randal Kolo Muani, who was next on United’s list.

While Kane had instant ‘plug and play’ appeal given his Premier League experience, 20-year-old Hojlund was at the other of the scale with the best years of his career in front of him. He had time and potential on his side, even though his eventual fee of £72m was uncomfortably close to the Kane price.

United sources insist there are no regrets over their decision. While Kane has scored 18 in the Bundesliga for Bayern, Hojlund has yet to get off the mark in the Premier League.

At least the Dane has outgunned his rival 5-4 in the Champions League, although Kane’s goal and assist helped Bayern to a 4-3 win over United in September that has smoothed their passage to the knockout stages while United are clinging on for dear life at the bottom of Group A.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Bayern identified Kane as the ideal replacement for Lewandowski last year once it became clear that Erling Haaland wanted to join Manchester City and work with Pep Guardiola.

Chief executive Oliver Kahn and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic made contact with Charlie Kane, the player’s agent and brother, but both men were sacked on the final day of last season.

Bayern had to start again with club executives Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Uli Hoeness and Jan-Christian Dreesen teaming up with new coach Thomas Tuchel to form a taskforce to persuade Kane to move to Bavaria.

Rummenigge spoke to Kane almost on a daily basis after first making contact with the player while he was on holiday in the Bahamas in the summer.

‘I texted him telling him that I would like to talk to him on the phone and he answered within two minutes, which is not the norm in the WhatsApp world,’ recalls Rummenigge.

Once Kane knew United were out of the question, Bayern were his No.1 choice, driven by a desire for a new challenge and to win trophies.

The personal touch was key. Rummenigge kept calling and Tuchel flew to London to explain how he would build the team around him.

Dreesen had the task of dealing with Levy and made two trips to the UK. On the second occasion, Rummenigge instructed him: ‘Paying £10m to the left or right should not stop this transfer’.

Even then, the private jet carrying Kane to Germany on August 11 was grounded at Luton Airport while Levy squeezed the last pips out of the deal.

But it’s been well worth the effort so far as Kane heads for Old Trafford on Tuesday in imperious form.

United decided to go for 20-year-old Rasmus Hojlund instead of Kane, but he still cost £72m

Kane – who was a long-term target for Bayern – could come back to haunt United on Tuesday

‘The Harry Kane story is very simple: together with Haaland and Mbappe he is one of the best No.9s in the world,’ former Bayern technical director Michael Reschke tells Mail Sport.

‘You are guaranteed that he scores, makes important assists and that he is a fantastic team-mate for any dressing-room. To find more is not possible.

‘Whether you pay over £90m for a 30-year old or take a chance on a younger talent is always a tough question in the strategy of a football club.

‘But what I can say is that Harry Kane is proving well worth his transfer fee. If Bayern looked back, they would pay that fee again and again because Kane has made such an impact.’

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Source: Read Full Article