Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed an imminent reunion with all-time top scorer Harry Kane, whose Bayern Munich side will travel to North London for a summer friendly.
The England captain ended his record-breaking association with the Lilywhites in the summer window, making the move to the Allianz Arena in a deal which pocketed the Lilywhites €95m (£81.5m).
Kane departed North London with an all-time record of 280 goals from 435 appearances for the club, but his attempts to win a coveted trophy with Tottenham repeatedly ended in failure.
Moving to Germany with the intention of quenching his thirst for silverware, Kane could instead be part of the first Bayern team since the 2011-12 season not to win the Bundesliga title, as Thomas Tuchel's men sit 10 points adrift of Bayer Leverkusen at the top of the table.
The Bavarians have already fallen short in their efforts to clinch DFB-Pokal and German Super Cup glory this season, while they have a daunting Champions League quarter-final with Premier League leaders Arsenal in store for next month.
© Reuters
While Kane could very well end another season without a major team trophy, the 30-year-old has been smashing records for fun in Germany, netting 37 goals and setting up 12 more in his first 35 appearances for Bayern.
Thirty-one Bundesliga goals in 26 games already represents Kane's highest attacking return in a single league campaign, although the striker was unavailable for England's friendlies with Brazil and Belgium on account of an ankle issue.
However, Kane will soon make his latest return to North London, as Tottenham have announced that they will square off with Bayern in a summer friendly on August 10, in the Visit Malta Cup.
The encounter will take place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Kane will not be the only ex-Spurs man to address the home crowd again, as Eric Dier will also touch down on North London soil.
The defender initially joined Bayern on loan until the end of the season and is now confirmed to be staying on for the 2024-25 season, but the spotlight will no doubt shine down on Kane, although Tottenham have coped relatively well in his absence, as the numbers prove.
We will face six-time European champions @FCBayern in the @VisitMalta Cup at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday 10th August, 17:30 kick-off.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) March 27, 2024
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How have Tottenham fared since Harry Kane's exit?
Flash back to the summer of 2007, where Tottenham's North London rivals Arsenal waved goodbye to all-time top scorer Thierry Henry and enjoyed a tremendous start to the new season, albeit until Eduardo da Silva's horrific leg break.
Similarly, the Lilywhites have emulated their bitterest foes in coping rather well following the exit of their most prolific player in history, averaging just over two goals per game in the Premier League season with 59 strikes from 28 matches.
The fifth-highest tally in the league is appropriately good enough for fifth place in the table, as Ange Postecoglou stamps his attacking blueprint onto Tottenham, who now hold the record for the second-longest scoring streak in Premier League history at an astounding 39 matches.
With Son Heung-min starring again and Richarlison finally coming good in the white strip, Spurs made the net bulge in each of their first 27 top-flight games of the 2023-24 season, only to see their streak snapped in humiliating fashion in a 3-0 loss to Fulham last time out.
Nevertheless, this weekend's visit of a leaky Luton Town side represents a golden opportunity for Tottenham to revert to their clinical ways, and the Lilywhites have at least met pre-season attacking expectations in the wake of Kane's exit, if not exceeded them.
Ben Knapton
