Harry Kane shot FC Bayern to the double with his treble in the DFB Cup final against VfB Stuttgart, proving once again why Munich were so keen to sign him. Now, former sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has revealed how early the record champions were already working on the Kane transfer – and what alternatives were discussed internally
On SPORT1-Doppelpass, the former Bayern boss spoke in detail about the search for a striker at the time following the imminent departure of Robert Lewandowski
„When it was clear that Lewandowski was leaving – that was back in October, November 2021 – we held talks and had to think about who could be next,“ explained Salihamidzic
Even then, the focus quickly fell on Harry Kane
The former Bayern sporting director revealed that Munich tried to make contact with the England international very early on. „Then we tried to make contact and that went on until the end of the season. But Tottenham closed the door pretty quickly at the time and didn’t want to talk about it at all,“ the 49-year-old reported
Nevertheless, Kane remained the absolute preferred option internally: „We were determined that it had to be him because he really has qualities that hardly anyone else possesses,“ Salihamidzic emphasized
Haaland and Mbappe were also on the agenda
Interestingly, Kane was by no means the only world-class striker discussed at Säbener Straße. The names Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland were also discussed at the record champions. „Mbappé was not financially feasible at all. Haaland was also an issue. Of course, we made sure that it had to be a top striker,“ explained Salihamidzic
The ex-Bayern boss also made it clear how important an outstanding center forward is for the record champions: „At FC Bayern, you need someone who can win games, whether that was Giovane Elber back then, Lewa or now, of course, Kane.“
Particularly exciting: The Kane transfer finally took off after the signing of Thomas Tuchel in the spring of 2023. „We got a new coach in March: Thomas Tuchel. About four weeks later, sometime in April, we sat down together and clearly agreed that Kane would be the number one transfer target,“ revealed Salihamidzic
Shortly afterwards, the Bayern executives even traveled to London in person
„We went to London that same week and met the family. He really has a great family, his dad and brother are very nice, we had good talks.“
Salihamidzic no longer witnessed the move
However, Salihamidzic did not live to see the final completion of the deal. After the turbulent 2023 season finale, the Bosnian was dismissed together with Oliver Kahn. The transfer was then finalized by the new Bayern management
„Then the boys followed it up. Of course, it wasn’t easy to get Harry Kane away from London, but FC Bayern had the power and did it,“ said Salihamidzic
The Munich club ultimately transferred around 100 million euros to Tottenham Hotspur. In retrospect, the deal now looks like an absolute hit. Uli Hoeneß even described the signing as the best transfer in the club’s history
Since moving to the Isar, Kane has now scored an incredible 146 goals and provided 33 assists in just three seasons – and has long since become one of the most successful transfers in the club’s history.