Harry Kane has wished Tottenham Hotspur well as speculation swirls over a possible return, but the forward appears settled in Munich and focused on the immediate targets at Bayern.

Reports have suggested Kane can trigger a €65 million (£56.6 million, $75.6 million) release clause next summer if notice is submitted by the end of January. That possibility has prompted talk of a move back to Spurs — who finally ended a 17-year trophy drought last season — while Manchester United and Barcelona have also been linked.

New Spurs boss Thomas Frank publicly said Kane would be welcome to return. The player himself, however, made clear his current priorities lie elsewhere. “I’m not sure [if I’ll go back],” Kane told the Daily Mail when quizzed on Spurs. “I’m very happy here in Munich. [Leaving] is not something I’m thinking about. It’ll always be ‘we’ [with Spurs] because I spent my whole life there. I’m a fan of them and will always watch them and see how they’re getting on. They will always be a part of my life for sure but as for now, I’m loving it here.”

Kane enjoyed seeing former team-mate Son Heung-min lift the Europa League trophy and retains friends among the players and staff at Tottenham. “[Winning the Europa League] was big for everyone…hopefully they can push on and win more,” he said.

For now Kane is intent on delivering for Bayern. He spoke of a clear ambition to convert opportunities into trophies for the reigning Bundesliga champions and pointed to the chance of success across domestic cups and Europe. “We’ve got a great chance for all the trophies this year. Whenever you start a season with Bayern, you’re favourites. We haven’t had great cup runs since I’ve been here so we want to try and put that right,” Kane explained. “Then in the Champions League, it’s still early stages but ultimately it’s about trying to win the competition. And going into the World Cup, you want to be at your best. ]

Turning 33 in July, Kane is already planning his focus on Bayern and the international stage next summer.

Harry Kane left Tottenham for Bayern Munich in 2023 in search of what had been missing from his CV: collective success. He had grown with Mauricio Pochettino’s exciting Lilywhites, became Spurs’ all-time record goalscorer in early 2023 and, six weeks later, surpassed Wayne Rooney’s England total with a penalty in Rome. The move addressed a stark truth: he was finished with rebuilds and wanted a guarantee of silverware at a club that had won 11 consecutive Bundesliga titles entering 2023–24.

Kane’s admiration for Tom Brady is well-documented. He watched Brady’s greatest moments, witnessed the 2017 Super Bowl comeback and was in Atlanta for the Patriots’ sixth Super Bowl success two years later. Until Munich, Kane had too often existed as a near-miss operator on the biggest stages, a narrative crystallised by his missed penalty in the 2022 World Cup quarterfinal against France and by finals lost with Tottenham in domestic and European competitions.

The move to Bayern did not immediately erase doubts. Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen produced a historic campaign that denied Bayern trophies and left Die Roten with their first trophy-less season since 2011–12, reinforcing the harsh notion that Kane was a “loser” who might never fill the void on his résumé. Even so, Kane finished the season with the European Golden Shoe after scoring 36 Bundesliga goals.

Vincent Kompany’s arrival has coincided with a resurgence at Bayern and with Kane finding new consistency. His third year in Munich is tracking as his most productive, and he reached 100 goals for Bayern faster than anybody for one club in Europe’s top five leagues since 1992. Robert Lewandowski’s single-season Bundesliga record is now a clear target. Kane has also earned comparisons to a “quarterback” from compatriot Anthony Gordon.

At 32, Kane faces a choice. He remains 47 goals short of Alan Shearer’s Premier League record, yet reports of a Bayern release clause and his admitted initial intent to return to the Premier League have been softened by life in southern Germany. By sustaining dominance at a supergiant and adding major trophies, Kane can transform a career of exceptional goalscoring into one defined equally by silverware.

Bayern Munich face a serious negotiation impasse with Dayot Upamecano as the defender weighs his options ahead of free agency. Club officials have publicly stated a desire to keep him, but recent suggestions of progress were dismissed by Christian Falk.

According to reporting, a basic agreement on salary exists but the dispute centres on a signing-on payment. Alphonso Davies is reported to have received close to €20 million (£17.4 million, $23.2 million) to turn down Real Madrid and extend last year, and Upamecano is seeking a comparable package. The gap between the parties is described as “very, very big”, and Bayern are unlikely to match the terms a player could command on a free transfer.

Florian Plettenberg says Upamecano will not lower his demands and has made it clear he would happily walk away next summer if the club will not meet his conditions. “Top clubs” are already moving, with Liverpool specifically named by German reporters and Fabrizio Romano listing Liverpool alongside Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain as potential suitors.

Interest from those clubs has reportedly been formalised with Upamecano’s representatives. The France international remains settled in Munich and would be prepared to sign an extension if his demands were satisfied, but he is free to discuss overseas moves from January.

The situation also sits within a wider market context: Upamecano and Ibrahima Konaté, former teammates at RB Leipzig, are among several central defenders attracting attention, and Crystal Palace’s Marc Guéhi is named as another figure of interest to much of Europe’s elite, including both Liverpool and Madrid. Players who leave on free transfers commonly receive substantial signing-on fees, reflecting the ability of buying clubs to reallocate funds saved by not paying a transfer fee.