Harry Kane's transfer saga with Bayern Munich isn't "going away this summer" even after Tottenham Hotspur rejected the Bavarian club's initial offers, claims journalist Paul Brown.
Tottenham Hotspur transfer news – what's the latest on Harry Kane?
It has been a positive start to the summer transfer window for Tottenham so far this year. Despite finishing outside the European places for the first time since the 2008/09 season, the North London outfit managed to secure the signature of one of their top transfer targets and most sought-after players in the league, James Maddison.
That said, the main task for the Lilywhites this year looks to be keeping their club captain and talismanic centre-forward Kane in N17.
Spurs' all-time top scorer now has under a year left on his £200,000-a-week contract, and with no indication that he will be signing a new one, Europe's top clubs have begun circling.
The latest elite side to show their interest, and with some persistence at that, is German giants Bayern Munich.
The Bundesliga champions had a first official bid of €70m (£60m) plus add-ons rejected last month and are now preparing a second deal worth an estimated £70m; however, Spurs are set to reject that one as well, per the Daily Mail.
Despite these setbacks, the Bavarian side will likely continue to test Daniel Levy's resolve, especially as Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg has reported that the England captain "definitely wants to join FC Bayern now."
What has Brown said about Harry Kane?
Brown points out that Bayern won't give up on this deal and that they perceive Spurs to be in a weak position here due to Kane's current contract situation.
Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said: "Yeah, I don't think this is going away this summer. I think Bayern will push really hard. The interesting thing is that the first time the news leaked out of Germany that Bayern had bid for Kane, people at Spurs were denying that that had ever happened.
"This time, they're offering no comments and going no further. So, make of that what you will. I think Bayern are trying hard to sign Kane this summer, and they will continue right up until the window closes.
"They think that Daniel Levy and Spurs are not in a strong position because Kane's contract is running out."
How many goals has Harry Kane scored in his career?
Kane has established himself as one of the top five strikers in world football over the last decade, but how many goals has he scored so far?
In 435 appearances for Spurs, he has scored 280 goals and provided 64 assists, giving the "England Legend" a genuinely outstanding goal contribution every 1.2 games. Of those 280 goals, 213 have come in the Premier League, 21 in the Champions League, and 24 in domestic cup competitions, per TransferMarkt.
The Walthamstow-born machine performs just as well for his national side as he is now the all-time top goal scorer for both club and country.
In 84 appearances for the Three Lions, Kane has scored 58 goals and provided 18 assists, giving him a frankly outrageous goal contribution every 1.1 games in international football.
While Levy and Co are certainly playing a dangerous game by keeping such a valuable asset whilst his contract runs down, it's unlikely that they could replace him with the money Bayern have offered thus far anyway.