HARRY KANE certainly took his time, not that Bayern Munich or Tottenham fans were thanking him for it.
But the England captain, who finally put Spurs fans out of their misery after the confirmation of his transfer, has clearly delivered the right decision to move to Bavaria.
Bayern MunichHarry Kane has left Tottenham Hotspur for Bayern Munich[/caption]
Bayern MunichHe has signed a four-year contract with the Bundesliga champions[/caption]
It should be an exciting chapter of a fine career which, so far, has yielded lots of goals but not a single trophy.
Once the clubs agreed a fee of over £100million, both sets of supporters would have thought it was deal done.
So everyone in Germany, including Bayern themselves, were left totally baffled as the transfer suddenly stalled.
Tottenham fans were hoping that maybe after all, their all-time goalscorer, who has been with the club since he was 11, was ready to stay for at least one more season.
Officials at Bayern could not understand any of this. Talks with Kane’s family that had gone so smoothly yet all of a sudden, there was a chance that their no 1 target was about to slip through the net.
Equally, Kane’s wife, Kate, has also been spotted in Munich looking at homes so none of this last made any sense.
Ultimately, the delay was because Kane’s father Pat, and brother Charlie, were looking to sort out the final financial details.
Kane has always loved a statistic and much has been made of his desire to beat Alan Shearer’s Premier League goals record.
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AFPAlan Shearer is 48 goals ahead of Harry Kane’s Prem total[/caption]
Kane has won the Premier League Golden Boot three timesGetty
With 213 goals from 320 games, Kane needs just 48 more to break Shearer’s record.
Yet considering his fitness record these days, he could still have a couple of years at Bayern and return home and break the record in any case.
But equally, Kane will now absolutely love the chance to write his name into history at a club with a long tradition of fine number 9s which includes Gerd Muller, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Robert Lewandowski.
Kane’s only mistake was not leaving Tottenham sooner, although he did post an emotional goodbye to the club’s fans on social media.
A few Spurs fans are feeling let down and angry that he has left but the vast majority are not blaming Kane for leaving because he has given everything for the club.
Instead, the supporters’ anger is being directed at chairman Daniel Levy for completing the deal so close to the start of the season.
Instead, Kane is joining one of the biggest clubs in the world where he will finally collect some trophies.
He will also have a chance of winning the Champions League whereas had he stayed at Spurs, he would have spent his midweeks watching the games on TNT Sports.
There is a sneering attitude in England at Bayern because of their dominance of the Bundesliga after 11 successive titles.
But let’s not forget Manchester City are threatening the same kind of dominance over here. Also, the Bundesliga is a terrific division packed with great clubs who boast some major footballing history. The total opposite to Saudi Arabia.
Germany has the highest attendances in Europe and Kane will experience a better atmosphere at the stadiums than in England.
Bayern have been crowned champions of Europe on six occasions, three times this century and most recently three years ago.
As a result, Kane will now come under enormous pressure to help Bayern once again win the Champions League.
And maybe it is written in the stars that Kane could feature in next year’s June 1 final . . . at Wembley.
After then, we will move on to Euro2024 in Germany. Kane will now be able to give the Three Lions squad some info on the grounds as he will have played at all of them.
Equally, England boss Gareth Southgate will not be too upset that Kane has decided to move away from England.
With Jude Bellingham at Real Madrid, it is incredible that the nation’s best two players will not be featuring in England but instead, will be playing each week for two of the world’s biggest clubs.
And while this is not great news for the Premier League, it will be fascinating for those who love their European football to see how Kane – and Bellingham – progress in the next 12 months.
As for Kane, he will just continue to be an absolute nightmare for opposing defenders. He scored 30 goals in an ordinary Spurs side last season, so place your bets, please, on how many he gets for Bayern.
GettyTwo of Gareth Southgate’s biggest stars will be playing abroad next season[/caption]
ReutersKane will join a long line of famous Bayern No9s[/caption]