The attraction for Tottenham’s new regime is perfectly clear. Bringing home Harry Kane would be a glorious coup, an absolute triumph.
There might be no better way to signal this fresh dawn than to cough up the £56.7million it would take to prise Kane away from his Bavarian residency and prove their ambition to the masses.
Spurs are buying no longer in the business of selling, it would scream. They’re buying. And they’re buying for now. Not for later.
With Daniel Levy no longer at the helm there is one major obstacle removed to the potential for a romantic reunion, because by the time he had spent two years forcing his way out of the club Kane had little appetite to go back and work for the man who made his exit so painful.
Vivienne Lewis, daughter of patriarch billionaire Joe, and chief executive Vinai Venkatesham are the driving forces in the boardroom post Levy and Kane has no problems with either of them.
He and his family have a very healthy relationship with the Lewis family and would regularly holiday on their luxury golfing resorts in Florida and the Caribbean.
Beyond which, Spurs could do with a world-class centre forward. It is arguably the one of the positions where they do not have an obvious talent emerging.
Even at 33, Kane would be an upgrade on Richarlison, 28, who will have one year on his contract at the end of this season, and Dominic Solanke, 28, for whom injuries are stifling the start of his second season. Mathys Tel is only 20 with much scope to develop but has a long way to go.
The England captain is as close as you can get to guaranteed goals. Just as he was when he left Spurs two years ago.
Kane is proven in the Premier League and would be motivated to chase down the 44 goals required to pass Alan Shearer’s record in the competition.
Big spending rivals are all stocked up on forwards. Liverpool spent more than £200m to sign Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike this summer. Manchester United invested about the same in Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha. Erling Haaland signed a new contract at Manchester City.
It is difficult to see Kane taking the move to Arsenal and ruining his status at Spurs. And Chelsea appear so firmly set on their trading pattern it is hard to see them signing any player they cannot flip for profit.
If Shearer’s record really does matter to Kane, then Spurs look like his best bet.
‘If he wants to join us he’s more than welcome,’ smiled Thomas Frank on Tuesday.
Which coach in their right mind rejects the option of guaranteed goals?
But £56.7m for a 33-year-old is difficult to justify in the modern market if Profit and Sustainability is still alive, and Spurs would have to smash a pay structure they forced back down by selling Kane, Hugo Lloris and Heung-min Son.
Kane’s Bayern wage, thought to be more than £400,000 a week is approximately twice the top earner at Tottenham. And the top earner can be relied upon to inflate the earning power of his team-mates.
The pattern in modern markets has been to spend big transfer fees on younger talent on lower wages and develop them, and Spurs have been committed to this under technical director Johan Lange.
It would make more business sense to take him on a free a year later, at the age of 34. He looks like he could play for years and there would be parallels to his hero Teddy Sheringham, who left Spurs for four years at Manchester United and returned with a case full of winners’ medals at the age of 35 for a two-year swansong with his boyhood club.
Even if the Lewis family decide it is worth the investment next year, however, what of Kane? Is this what he wants? Do Spurs have an enduring attraction for him?
Does the flame still flicker? It would be a surprise. Two years chasing trophies with Bayern Munich has surely fed his ambitions beyond the relatively parochial motivation of catching Shearer.
He will challenge for the Bundesliga, Champions League and world titles if he stays put until the end of his contract in 2027 and leaves on a free when the world will be his oyster, signs an extension or negotiates a move to Spain where Barcelona are searching for a successor to 37-year-old Robert Lewandowski.
Spurs, despite the Europa League success, are no closer to the biggest prizes than they were when he left.
‘Myself, I’m a traveller, I like to travel, I like to explore things as well,’ said Spurs boss Frank, not sounding as if he expected Kane to accept his open invitation as he pondered the hypotheticals.
Kane’s horizons have surely changed, too. He may be Chingford born and raised by has always adored the United States, where friends and former teammates Son and Lloris are playing in Los Angeles.
There is a certain logic to him making that step. If the Premier League has become the hottest destination for young players striving to reach the top, then MLS has become the choice of football’s world stars as they start to wind down.
