Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel will be hoping Harry Kane can fill the void left by Robert Lewandowski’s move to Barcelona in 2022
Bayern Munich fans could not have been more excited when Harry Kane finally arrived in Munich on Friday.
After more than a month of negotiations between Bayern and Tottenham, much of it in the public eye, Kane had finally become a player for the German champions.
However, only a little more than 24 hours after his arrival, the mood was already dampened, as Bayern lost 3-0 to RB Leipzig in the German Super Cup final.
Kane made his first appearance in Munich’s Allianz Arena when Thomas Tuchel brought him on to replace Mathys Tel in the 63rd minute.
The Bayern manager felt bad that Kane’s debut came as a part of a losing effort.
“I just feel sorry for him,” Tuchel said after the game. “He probably thinks we haven’t trained for four weeks.
“Our performance today had nothing to do with what we wanted to do. It’s a very bitter evening, I’m sorry.”
Tuchel’s statement indicates how much respect Bayern have for their new record signing. The long and eventually successful pursuit of Kane was driven by two factors.
During their rather disappointing campaign last season, Bayern’s hierarchy acknowledged that the lack of a top-class striker hurt their chances in the Champions League, and also allowed Borussia Dortmund to push them far too close for comfort in the Bundesliga.
While Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting performed above expectations during stretches of the season, the 34-year-old former Stoke City striker was never seen as a long-term solution.
Sadio Mane was tested as a number nine after his move from Liverpool last summer, but that experiment did not bring positive results, and Mane, via stints on the left wing and then the bench, is now in the Saudi Pro League with Al-Nassr.
Bayern rekindled their interest in Kane a few months ago, as they had already approached the Tottenham talisman in the summer of 2022 after they allowed Robert Lewandowski to move to Barcelona.
From a sporting perspective, a move made total sense for Bayern because they already have high-quality attacking midfielders, most notably the veteran Thomas Muller and Jamal Musiala, who is a hot candidate for this year’s Golden Boy award - decided by journalists and given to the best player under the age of 21 in Europe’s top leagues.
Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane and Kingsley Coman, the three wingers in Bayern’s squad, also have the ability to supply Kane, be it on the ground or in the air.
They, and the likes of Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery in previous times, fed Lewandowski with one deadly pass after another for years.
Watch: Harry Kane’s move to Germany… in 76 seconds
Going forward, Kane will likely not be tasked with dropping back into the midfield as much as he had to in the past at Spurs and when playing for England, since Musiala and others can create plays, but Kane will be the centre piece in Bayern’s attack.
Fascinatingly, the 30-year-old has evolved during his career from a box forward to a playmaking number nine and back to a box forward.
Similar to Lewandowski, Kane serves best as a tactically proficient target man up front who knows how to read defences and find the perfect positions to score goals and make assists. Hence, Kane is the perfect successor of Lewandowski.
Kane represents elite status
The second reason Bayern targeted Kane for so long is one of perception. Among Europe’s elite, Bayern see themselves as on a level with Real Madrid and Manchester United in terms of fame, popularity and marketability.
These aspirations have been reinforced by those who made the club into what it is today, namely Uli Hoeness and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
The two former power brokers returned after the end of last season, when Oliver Kahn, the chief executive, and Hasan Salihamidzic, the sporting director, were released from their posts.
Hoeness, Rummenigge, Tuchel and Jan-Christian Dreesen, the new chief executive who led negotiations with Daniel Levy, the Tottenham chairman, have much of the say in the club.
They believe that the signing of Kane and his appearances for Bayern will allow them to remain one of the hottest clubs on a global scale.
Unfortunately for Bayern, Kane’s first appearance on Saturday was overshadowed by Dani Olmo, who scored all three goals for RB Leipzig and silenced the home crowd inside the Allianz Arena.
But just like Bayern were not discouraged by Tottenham rejecting three of their bids in recent weeks and were eventually able to welcome Kane as their new player, they will not be discouraged by one loss against a highly talented team.
In the coming weeks, Tuchel will work hard to integrate Kane into the team tactically and create chemistry between the new star striker and the rest of the attacking department.
After 10 silverware-less seasons with Tottenham, Kane has likely learned to be patient and wait for success to come.
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