Harry Kane is travelling to Germany to complete a move to Bayern Munich, after opting to leave Tottenham for the Bundesliga champions.
Kane received permission from Spurs late on Thursday night to travel to Munich and undergo a medical ahead of signing a four-year deal with Bayern.
After a summer of protracted negotiations, Spurs agreed a fee with Bayern, understood to be worth more than £86.4million up front, on Wednesday, but Kane spent Thursday agonising over whether to make the move or remain at his boyhood club for at least a further season.
The England captain wanted his future resolved before the start of the campaign — Spurs visit Brentford on Sunday — and had been enjoying training under new head coach Ange Postecoglou.
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Having entered the final 12 months of a six-year contract, he could have had the pick of clubs across the rest of the Premier League and Europe on a free transfer next summer if he had stayed put and run down his deal.
However, the lure of playing for the perennial Bundesliga champions, who have won the past 11 German titles in a row, proved too much, with Kane believing Bayern have a strong chance of winning the Champions League under former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel.
He had previously spoken to Tuchel and given his word to Bayern that he would make the move if they could agree a fee with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who has overseen the final stages of negotiations from the USA.
Kane wanted Spurs to receive a fee in the event that he departed, although if he remains in Germany for the duration of his contract then his hopes of breaking Alan Shearer’s all-time Premier League goal record will be in serious doubt.
He is 48 goals short of overtaking Shearer, but is the top scorer for both Spurs — with 280 from 435 appearances in total — and England. He leaves having never won a club trophy but with three Premier League Golden Boots, in 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2020-21.
The timing of the deal is not ideal for Postecoglou, who faces the media at 1pm BST on Friday, leaving the Australian without his leading striker, creator and de facto captain.
Kane started three of Spurs’s four pre-season friendlies and his final appearance in the shirt will be the 5-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday, when he scored four times.
It remains to be seen if Spurs will spend the Kane windfall on a replacement centre forward, with Richarlison, the Brazil No9, expected to lead the line this weekend, while Heung-min Son - with whom Kane shared the most lethal partnership in Premier League history - can also play up front.
Dane Scarlett and Alejo Veliz, the new signing from Argentina, are also in the first-team group, but both are just 19.
Kane, who will wear the No9 shirt in Bavaria, faces a tight 2pm deadline to complete his move in time to play in the German Supercup against RB Leipzig on Saturday, and is more likely to make his debut a week today in Bayern’s opening league game at Werder Bremen.
