Postecoglou admits he didn’t try to convince Harry Kane to stay at Tottenham as he reveals when he knew ace was gone
ANGE POSTECOGLOU knew Harry Kane was leaving when he took over as Spurs boss.
But he reckons the England captain will be back at Tottenham one day.
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Kane, 30, arrived in Germany on Friday night on a private jet for a medical ahead of his £104million move to Bayern Munich.
If the forward signs the five-year, £415,000-a-week deal and is registered before 3pm, he could lift his first trophy TODAY when Bayern take on RB Leipzig in the German Super Cup.
When Postecoglou was asked if he knew the striker was leaving when he took the job on June 6, the Aussie boss replied: “Yes, pretty much.
“It was not part of the contract negotiations that I wanted to keep certain players.
“When you take a job you do due diligence and I hope I did enough research to know what was going on behind the scenes.
“When a player of Harry’s caliber enters the final year of his contract, it doesn’t take too much research to know what’s going on.
“I knew from the start that this was the most likely outcome.”
Kane held a meeting with Postecoglou on July 12, the day the forward returned to Spurs pre-season training, where he made clear his desire to leave in that time slot should a deal be agreed.
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Postecoglou said: “After that initial conversation, it seemed like Harry had decided that if the clubs could agree, he would leave.
“If not, he would have gladly stayed. It’s not like he forced it on me.
“He was very professional and I tried to treat him with the respect that someone of his standing deserves.”
After three failed offers, Bayern finally managed to land their man with an initial offer of £86m plus £18m in surcharges, breaking their transfer record.
Postecoglou saw no point in persuading him to stay.
He added: “Whatever I wanted to say was irrelevant to his feelings.
“I could give this great vision, but I’m sure he’s heard it all before.”
With 280 goals in 435 appearances, Kane leaves Spurs as the top scorer.
But Postecoglou, whose side face Brentford in tomorrow’s Prem opener, is optimistic Kane will one day return.
He added: “He will definitely be back at Tottenham in one capacity or another one day.
“When you have a career like he has at a football club, you’re never a part of it.”
The Spurs are now increasingly signing Nigerian striker Gift Orban (21) from Belgian club Gent.
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