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Football London
Football London
Sport
Alasdair Gold

Harry Kane transfer question hangs over Tottenham as Ange Postecoglou decides on forward line

The attacking players in Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham team are set to have chances aplenty to feast upon next season but questions remain over exactly who will be there to put the ball in the net.

The Australian's teams are built to attack with a system that often includes two of the midfielders bursting forward to support the central striker and pressing wingers who can either then get wide to send balls into the box, cut inside to take shots at goal themselves or get on the end of crosses from the other side.

football.london have already looked at Postecoglou's defence and who could yet come in, as well as the midfield and what the Australian desires and now it's time to look at the attack.

The only place to start is with Harry Kane and what the future holds for the England captain. The striker, who is due to return to pre-season training on Wednesday, is being chased by Bayern Munich and the German side have now made an €80million (£68.3million) bid for him, which also includes add-ons on top.

Spurs had previously knocked down suggestions that the Bundesliga outfit had bid for Kane, who turns 30 this month, while insisting that it would be immediately rejected if they did. On Sunday though, the north London club were offering no comment on the reports of the bid coming from Germany for a player who has less than 12 months left on his contract.

Bayern would not be chasing Kane if they had not received a strong indication from his camp that he would like to ply his trade in the Bundesliga.

READ MORE: Daniel Levy has missed a trick as Tottenham ticket price hike adds pressure on Ange Postecoglou

Two years ago, the Spurs striker said in an interview with Gary Neville: "Of course there's always the option of maybe moving abroad one day but I don't think that really interests me in the near future."

The decline of Tottenham in recent years, most notably last season with four managers in as many months, appears to have changed Kane's view on heading out of the Premier League.

However, the view among the German media is not one of expectation that the bid will be accepted, particularly as they claim Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was livid at reports over there that Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel had held talks with Kane at his home and that the striker has agreed terms in principle with the Bundesliga outfit.

From Tottenham's side, football.london understands the north London club have previously offered their all-time top goalscorer the opportunity to discuss a huge new contract in order to stay beyond that current deal which ends in 2024. The player is believed to be in no rush though to commit to a new deal during this transfer window while he assesses what the future holds.

Kane will be able to speak to foreign clubs in January about signing for them as a free agent next summer and in a year's time he will be able to move wherever he wants in the world, whether that means elsewhere in the Premier League and even for a reunion with a certain Mauricio Pochettino on the other side of London.

It's that range of choice in just 12 months' time that makes any need to rush out the door now to the Bundesliga a surprising choice if it were to happen. Would Kane choose to move to Bayern in the summer of 2024? He may well want to but there would be so many other attractive options and perhaps that's something driving the German side's own advances right now.

Tottenham will hope that Postecoglou, who will talk to Kane this week, can enthuse the striker about playing in his team and the chances that will be created for him, with a brand of football that he will enjoy. The forward scored 30 Premier League goals last season in a stuttering side. Just how many could he get within an attacking set-up?

Kane has spoken in recent months about Spurs getting back to showing the values he wants and in Postecoglou they have a man who can provide that.

"Hopefully Harry and Sonny score bags of goals and they're not the only ones. It's still the bit of the game I love the most," said Postecoglou this week. "There's no such thing as an ugly goal. Every single time that ball crosses the line, the emotion that that brings to people I love. It's still the best part of the game for me, how the goals go in, just the joy that it brings," he said.

"It unites people, it unites strangers. It doesn't matter who you're stood next to, when that ball crosses that line you're hugging them. So hopefully the boys score bags of goals but they're not the only ones."

For Levy, replacing Kane would prove impossible with one player. As a prolific goalscorer and playmaker wrapped into one, Tottenham would need to buy two players to fill his roles on the pitch and even then there's no guarantee it would work. Richarlison would be one in-house option for the striker role but even a £60million signing for Spurs, Brazil's number nine no less, scored just one Premier League goal last season.

That is why Levy will have so much hesitation over accepting any bid for Kane despite the fact that he risks losing him for nothing in 12 months' time. The club will have looked at potential replacements for their star man over the years and will have done so again this summer, just in case an offer arrived that was too big to simply swat away, a value that is deemed to outweigh what the striker can bring on the pitch - if that is even possible.

The timing of this Bayern bid is not ideal for Postecoglou as he speaks to the media for the first time at his introductory press conference on Monday afternoon at Hotspur Way. It will ensure that much of his afternoon is dominated by talk of Kane. It would have been anyway, but now the need for answers will be frenzied.

It would be ideal if Postecoglou was able to come out strongly on the subject and would be an immediate way to endear himself even further to the Tottenham fans, but whether the situation allows for that remains to be seen at this point. He will want to keep one of the world's best strikers, but events may be out of his hands. Everyone could do with clarity as Spurs prepare to jet off on their tour to Australia, Thailand and Singapore.

When it comes to his other attacking options, the Australian has a good array of them. Son Heung-min, who turned 31 on Saturday, will relish playing under him, Richarlison should improve after an injury-hit first season and Dejan Kulusevski, who signed permanently last month after his 18-month loan from Juventus, should revel in a variety of roles within Postecoglou's system.

The Swede has the potential to play on the right of the front three or centrally behind Kane and perhaps even as a number eight.

New £40million arrival James Maddison can do similar and comes with goals and assists galore in the Premier League, while Spurs are looking to tie up the free transfer of Manor Solomon this week to fill one of the squad spots left by the departed Lucas Moura and Arnaut Danjuma.

Postecoglou must then decide whether 22-year-old Bryan Gil can fill the other, with Pedro Porro also able to play as a right winger if required, as one who can also track back and tackle. Ivan Perisic is being tipped to depart this month, with links to a move to Hadjuk Split in recent days, while Giovani Lo Celso is expected to also head out of the exit door.

Tottenham are always on the lookout for young prospects for the future and will continue to look at such signings during this window, across all departments of the team, as well as any opportunities that arise in the market so do not rule out the arrival of any other young wingers or strikers.

In house, when it comes to attackers, Postecoglou will take a look at Dane Scarlett and Troy Parrott before deciding whether either is ready to get some first team game time or whether another loan is more suitable for their development.

The new Spurs head coach will have the full squad he wants to look at around him by the time he boards his flight to Perth on Friday, with potentially a couple of new additions.

This week is set to be an important one for Postecoglou but his two weeks abroad with his players will give him his clearest indication yet of who needs to go, who must stay and just how Spurs will look going forward next season. For now though, one question looms largest and needs to be answered.

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