Harry Kane celebrates after scoring for Tottenham
Ange Postecoglou will be delighted after discovering the outcome of the latest Tottenham and Bayern discussions over Harry Kane, with David Ornstein providing an insight, a Manchester United man will soon be the subject of a new bid from a Premier League rival, while Tuesday’s Transfer Gossip includes an attacker staying at West Ham after his move fell through.
LATEST ON HARRY KANE TO BAYERN
The Athletic reporter David Ornstein has revealed what happened in the most recent talks between Tottenham and Bayern, as the German titans look to make Harry Kane their new centre-forward.
Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel has decided on Kane as his ideal replacement for Robert Lewandowski, who left Bavaria for Barcelona last summer. Bayern had signed Sadio Mane to succeed from Lewandowski, but he did not live up to expectations and will resultantly join Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
In recent weeks, Bayern have had bids worth £60million and £70m rejected for Kane, with Tottenham pointing out their £100m asking price. However, Bayern chiefs remain determined to strike an agreement and therefore organised new talks with their Spurs counterparts.
According to German source Bild, those discussions were postponed by Spurs, which is a strategy often used by the North London club as they try to get the upper hand in negotiations.
Luckily for Bayern, those talks did finally end up happening on Monday.
Ange Postecoglou will have been worried about Bayern seriously testing Spurs’ resolve for Kane, as they have been tipped to smash their transfer record with a bid as high as £86m.
Luckily for Postecoglou, Ornstein has now revealed the outcome of the latest discussions, and it makes for promising reading for Spurs fans. ‘No agreement’ has been reached between the two sides, according to Ornstein.
This is because Bayern and Spurs are £25m apart in their valuations of the England striker.
Spurs holding firm on striker’s valuation
Based on previous reports detailing Spurs’ £100m demands, this would suggest Bayern have only been willing to pay £75m for Kane so far.
Postecoglou will be delighted that Spurs are holding firm. While he will have a plan in place for Kane leaving, he would very much like the goalscorer to stay. Kane’s influence in attack will be crucial if Spurs are to get back into the top four and finally end their wait for silverware.
Ornstein goes on to state that there is a ‘good relationship’ between Spurs and Bayern, and talks are ‘set to continue’ as a result.
However, it is hard to see an agreement being reached unless Spurs perform a major U-turn and end up accepting less than £100m for their prized asset.
In a recent interview with GiveMeSport, Fabrizio Romano claimed Spurs would look to use some of the money gained from Kane’s sale to improve their centre-back ranks with the capture of Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba. Romano added that it would be ‘difficult’ for Spurs to land Tapsoba without the Kane funds.
But if the Spurs hierarchy really want Postecoglou to be successful, then they should continue doing everything they can to retain Kane, while also pushing the boat out a little and spending that little bit extra to bring Tapsoba in.
WEST HAM IN NEW MAN UTD PROPOSAL
West Ham are readying a new attack for Man Utd defender Harry Maguire, according to a report.
Maguire’s future at Old Trafford is uncertain after he lost his starting place under Erik ten Hag last season. The Dutch boss prefers to operate with Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane at centre-back, leaving Maguire stuck on the bench.
Things went from bad to worse for Maguire recently when Ten Hag stripped him of the captaincy and handed it to attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes.
Maguire has been urged to think of his England career by pundit Clinton Morrison and force through a transfer away from Man Utd this summer.
The 30-year-old has surprisingly been approached by five Serie A clubs, as they look to repeat the success of Chris Smalling’s transfer to Roma.
But in the Premier League, it is West Ham who are pushing hardest to land Maguire.
On Friday, The Athletic revealed how West Ham had begun the bidding for Maguire by submitting a £20m offer. However, this was rejected straight away by Man Utd as it did not meet their expectations.
According to an update from Football Insider, West Ham are now ‘considering a second offer’ as they try to finalise a deal with their Prem competitors.
The Irons’ interest in Maguire is described as ‘genuine’ as manager David Moyes is a big fan of him and believes he could improve the West Ham backline.
The report does not reveal exactly how much the new proposal will be worth, although it is likely it will come in at between £25-30m.
However, Football Insider state that West Ham are gradually realising how hard it will be to sign the 57-cap England international.
They will not want to go much higher than the £30m mark, due to Maguire’s age and recent struggles in Manchester. But Man Utd do not want to take a colossal financial hit when selling Maguire, having spent a huge £80m on him originally.
As a result of these demands, it is likely West Ham will walk away from negotiations if their second bid is rejected by Man Utd.
WEST HAM EXIT IN JEOPARDY
While West Ham are hopeful of adding Maguire to their squad, one player who has been tipped to leave in recent weeks is striker Michail Antonio.
The former Nottingham Forest ace has emerged as a target for Steven Gerrard at Al Ettifaq. After landing Moussa Dembele and Jordan Henderson, Gerrard has set his sights on Antonio to improve is forward line.
West Ham have been preparing themselves for Antonio’s potential exit by targeting Elye Wahi as a possible replacement, while Gabby Agbonlahor thinks it would be ‘ridiculous’ for the Irons to let their current attacker leave.
As per an update from Football Insider, Moyes might actually be able to rely on Antonio next season after all.
The transfer is now ‘on hold’ after Al Ettifaq ‘cooled their interest’ in him.
It was previously thought that Gerrard wanted to create a strike partnership involving Antonio and former Lyon star Dembele. However, in a big twist, Al Ettifaq no longer believe they need to sign Antonio. They are instead looking at other players to improve different parts of Gerrard’s first team.
The decision will be a disappointing one for Antonio to take. At 33 years of age, he will have been hoping to head to Saudi Arabia to pick up a massive contract before hanging up his boots.
Now though, it looks like the London-born star will see out the final year of his West Ham deal before weighing up his options in summer 2024.
