Bayern Munich must cave to Spurs after misreading the room over Harry Kane

Bayern Munich need Harry Kane more than he needs them, and more than Daniel Levy needs the money. The Bavarians have backed themselves into a corner they need to wriggle out of…

More than 48 hours after their deadline for a response, Bayern Munich must have taken the hint after being left on double-grey ticks by Daniel Levy.

If they want Harry Kane, or even just the courtesy of a reply, they will have to try harder.

In fairness to Bayern, they have shown some willingness. Their third bid, after a derisory opener and a half-hearted follow-up, was certainly closer to the money Levy would insist upon to become The Man Who Sold Kane. Bayern offered around 100million, just in the wrong currency.

Reports vary but the consensus appears to be that the Bavarians bid around £86million, including add-ons, which has been predictably knocked back. That came after face-to-face talks in London at the start of last week, which Bayern must surely have left with a clear idea of what is expected of them.

Now it’s time for them to fulfil those expectations. Bayern seem to have spent most of the summer expecting Spurs to buckle, which illustrates an alarming naivety over who they are dealing with, and an over-inflated sense of their own authority.

READ MORE: Man City’s £160m move and enraging Spurs: the ten worst attempts at forcing Levy into selling Kane

Bayern need this deal to happen more than Spurs. They need it to happen more than Kane himself.

Tottenham and England’s record goalscorer is in the sweetest of spots. It seems he fancies joining Bayern but he won’t force the issue; nor is there any need to. In a year, he can have his pick of clubs. And, in the meantime, he gets to sit tight where he remains loved and revered, amid an Ange Postecoglou-led rebuild.

Next summer, Bayern won’t be the only club at Kane’s door as they are now. Currently, they have a free run at one of the world’s most-deadly centre-forwards. And Christ knows they need him.

Since they sold Robert Lewandowski a year ago, there has been a gaping void in Bayern’s frontline almost the size of the one in Man Utd’s attack. The Bundesliga perma-champs got away with it last season, but only just. They had to rely on their closest rivals going peak-Dortmund, caving in on the final day of the season. And even then, it was a closer shave than it ought to have been.

Since then, they’ve sold Sadio Mane, one of the few options they have to play through the middle. If they don’t sign Kane, they will have to move for someone else. And, as United found, any forward capable of lacing Kane’s boots won’t come much cheaper. Mainly because there are so few of them.

Uli Hoeness, Bayern’s honorary president, has already spoken about why Kane if their primary target. In terms of profile and impact, he ticks more boxes than Randal Kolo Muani or Dusan Vlahovic, and he is more attainable than Victor Osimhen.

READ MORE: Spurs might already have Harry’s heir: Top ten replacement options for Kane

And Spurs, themselves riddled with fear over losing their figurehead, know that Bayern are also seeking to save face. Any Plan B would involve an embarrassing climbdown from a club seeking to reassert itself as one of the game’s biggest hitters.

Their new CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen is desperate for an early win, while president Herbert Hainer hasn’t had his feet under Bayern’s table for much longer. After a chastening season, which they got away with by the skin of their teeth, Bayern need the statement of intent that signing Kane would provide only slightly more than they wish to swerve the embarrassment of missing out.

And time is now of the essence. Bayern’s deadline of last Friday was, as expected, given short shrift by Levy, but both clubs and Kane himself are all said to want a resolution before next weekend, when Spurs kick off their Premier League campaign and Bayern face RB Leipzig in the DFL-Supercup.

Hoeness said last month that Tottenham would have to cave, which prompted an outbreak of cringe in Bavaria and beyond. That statement is no less bullsh*t now than it was then. One party will have to relent to get Kane to Munich and it isn’t Spurs.