Transfer news: It’s now or never for Harry Kane
Harry Kane is continuing to be courted by the German giants Bayern Munich as they look to make him the centrepiece of their attack. But with time running out before the start of the Premier League season, is Kane willing to force a move through?
Bayern have been insistent on signing Kane and have placed three bids to sign the Tottenham legend, the last of which was valued at around £86 million.
Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, is never one to let his players go for less than he values them, so despite the huge sums on offer from Germany, so far Levy and the club are standing firm.
Reports from the Guardian suggest Bayern Munich are currently holding internal talks over their next move. Should they bid again, it would need to be close to, or match Levy’s valuation of the player.
From the player’s side, there is a need to expedite the process as Tottenham’s first game of the Premier League, away at Brentford, is this weekend. The Telegraph has reported Kane will stop his attempts at forcing a move once the Premier League has started. Time is ticking for the Bavarians.
If Kane stays at Tottenham for the 2023 season, there will be endless speculation about his next move. He will be out of contract after the 23/24 season and will have his pick of where to sign. It is also very possible Tottenham try to reward Kane with a bumper new contract.
Beyond Harry Kane, the transfer window has started to heat up once more. After a bright start, there was a lull as teams looked to find the best bargain available. At least, this is true in Europe, Saudi Arabia is continuing their splurge as they try and sign bigger and bigger names.
For what feels like the fifth season in a row, Bernardo Silva has been courted by Barcelona with some even reporting the Catalan club has tabled a huge offer for the Portuguese. Paul Hirst of The Times has reported Silva is more likely to stay in Manchester and sign a big new contract with the Cityzens.
Harry Maguire remains the most expensive defender in football, his 2019 transfer to Manchester United from Leicester City costing £78 million. As such he has become a difficult player for United to get rid of despite being stripped of the captaincy and nowhere near Erik ten Hag’s first-team squad.
West Ham are currently flush with cash as they look to rebuild their team following the departures of Declan Rice and Gianluca Scamacca. They see Harry Maguire a good fit for them and have bid upwards of £30 million for the Red Devil. United see his valuation at closer to £45 million, but both sides are willing to find a compromise.
As 50% of the infamous McFred midfield that never quite propelled Manchester United to their previous glory, Scott McTominay is also looking for an exit from Old Trafford. West Ham are once again looking at the Scot as a key part of their rebuilt squad and have tabled a separate £30 million bid for him too.
Folarin Balogun is coming off an impressive year where he scored 21 league goals playing for Reims in the French Ligue 1. It should come as no surprise he is now becoming a hot commodity on the transfer market. With rumours swirling of a bidding way heating up, where could the young striker end up?
It has been reported by transfer expert David Ornstein that Monaco made an official, written bid for Balogun after Arsenal and Monaco played a preseason friendly last week. The size of the bid is unknown but it was rejected by Arsenal as it came nowhere near the North London club’s valuation of the player.
Reports have been swirling for some time that Inter Milan are also interested in the US international, but they are currently struggling to find the funds to place a serious bid for the Arsenal striker. There has been some speculation of a smaller bid that includes a large sell-on fee, but this is so far unsubstantiated.
Once it was clear Arsenal were focusing on Declan Rice, it seemed inevitable that Moises Caicedo would be heading to Chelsea. Despite this, and Chelsea sending Brighton at least three bids, with the latest one worth over £80 million, the player remains a Seagull.
The Guardian have reported Caicedo missed Brighton’s training on Monday 7th August, the club has claimed this was due to a tight hamstring, but the player’s side is pushing the narrative Caicedo is looking to force through a move. Chelsea will need to up their bid by close to £20 million in order to get the deal over the line as Brighton aren’t budging.