Tuchel’s intriguing Kane transfer claim – what’s the real story? | OneFootball

Harry Kane will be looking to inspire England into the semi-finals of the 2026 World Cup when the Three Lions take on Norway on Saturday in Miami.

The Bayern Munich striker enjoyed the best season of his career, scoring 61 goals across all competitions, and has carried that outstanding form into the World Cup.

Kane has scored six goals in the tournament so far and remains in the race for the Golden Boot, although the striker has insisted that his sole focus is on helping England win the World Cup.

Thomas Tuchel, the England manager and former Bayern Munich boss, has revealed that he fought with the club’s hierarchy to bring Kane to Germany.

Real story behind Harry Kane transfer to Bayern Munich

Christian Falk has exclusively revealed to CFBayern Insider what exactly happened during Harry Kane’s transfer to Bayern Munich.

Contrary to what Thomas Tuchel has said, the Bild journalist has suggested that everyone at Bayern were keen to sign Kane.

The guys in Munich were a little bit surprised! I had one or two calls (on the subject of Thomas Tuchel’s comments on the signing of Harry Kane at FC Bayern), and they were saying, “Who does he mean?”

What I can say – and this is 100% the truth – is that Bayern Munich were working on this deal even before Tuchel came to the club. Certainly since ex-director of sport Hasan Salihamidžić made the connection to the family. Marco Neppe, who was the former technical director at the club (but has since left the role by mutual consent), held contact with Harry Kane’s family for over a year.

There was even a secret meeting when Julian Nagelsmann was head coach. Bayern had lost against Bayer Leverkusen on the Saturday at the time (a 1-2 defeat), which prompted a decision to talk to Tuchel on the following Monday. On Tuesday, the secret meeting took place in Salihamidžić’s flat, where Thomas Tuchel was asked if he wanted to become the new coach. On this day, they also talked about possible transfers, and FC Bayern shared their future plans with Tuchel. They clearly said that they wanted to go for Harry Kane, and they asked if that was fine with the 52-year-old. Now, I heard that Thomas Tuchel said something along the lines of, This sounds nice, but let me think about it for one or two days, as he’s not the youngest player anymore. After two days, he came to the conference and confirmed that he also wanted Kane.

So, as it turns out, there were no arguments on the subject of signing the former Tottenham hitman – and it was Tuchel who needed time to think about it! That’s why it’s all a bit strange. But there are always guys like this; special guys – geniuses even – who have a slightly selective memory! I’m sure Thomas absolutely believes what he says, but perhaps there’s been so much time since then that things have just become slightly blurry.

I can say: there was not a single Bayern boss who said no to the idea of signing Harry Kane. I know how they worked on this. The CEO, Jan-Christian Dreesen, fought for this, flying three times to meet the boss at Tottenham, Daniel Levy. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Uli Hoeneß, Oliver Kahn, Salihamidžić… everyone was focused on this deal and committed to paying a record fee to make the transfer happen. So, I don’t know any other person who could have an influence on proceedings who didn’t sign off on the move for Harry Kane. Everyone was keen!

Harry Kane future: Bayern striker to sign new deal?

Kane became the most expensive signing in Bundesliga history when he joined Bayern from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2023.

Bayern paid around €100m plus €10m in bonuses to sign the England captain, and he has been nothing short of phenomenal for the German champions.

Kane scored 44 goals in his first season, 41 in his second, and 61 in his third across all competitions, taking his remarkable tally to 146 goals in 147 appearances.

At 32, he is showing no signs of slowing down, and Bayern firmly believe he can continue performing at the highest level for several more years.

Kane has previously stated that he wants to remain at Bayern beyond this summer, but he has yet to sign a new contract.

Barcelona have been linked with a move for Kane this summer, but as we have previously reported, the Catalan giants have no chance of signing him.