A surprising clause in Harry Kane’s contract with Bayern Munich allows the striker to return to England at a reduced price, potentially impacting Arsenal’s striker acquisition plans, according to a report from BILD.
Since moving from Tottenham to Bayern Munich, Kane, now 31, has lived up to expectations, scoring an impressive 70 goals in 72 games and providing 22 assists.
The BILD report reveals that Kane’s contract includes a clause enabling him to return to the Premier League. With an eye on Alan Shearer’s record of 260 Premier League goals, which Kane trails with 213, this clause could see him back in England.
The clause can be activated in January of 2025 or 2026, allowing a move in the following summer. Since the 2025 window passed without activation, Kane won’t be moving next summer.
However, if he opts for the clause in January 2026, he could leave for €65m (£54m) in the summer of that year, despite being 32 by then. His performance remains top-tier, not reliant on speed.
The report does not specify whether Kane would return to Tottenham or another club. This scenario could affect Arsenal, who recently failed to sign a new striker in January, notably making a £60m bid for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins.
Arsenal might still compete for the Premier League without a new striker, but the situation with Kane adds another layer to their transfer strategy.
Explaining Arsenal’s failed attempts to add more firepower, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano told his YouTube channel: “Probably the most asked question of the deadline day: what are Arsenal going to do?
“What we can say is Arsenal considered several options, dream options like Benjamin Sesko, almost impossible options like Alexander Isak, who were never going to leave their clubs in January.
“But Arsenal understood it was almost impossible to make it happen now, so these two names – Isak and Sesko – remain for the summer.”
On Watkins specifically, Romano added: “Arsenal tried for Watkins a few days ago, but Aston Villa were furious [about the bid arriving] before the Champions League game [vs Celtic].
“Also the transfer fee: £60m add-ons included, were not enough to convince Aston Villa.
“Unai Emery wanted the player to stay and Jhon Duran going to Al-Nassr also had an impact. For Villa, money was no longer needed.”
As previously noted, Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig is one of two strikers Arsenal has targeted for the summer transfer window.
However, according to an update by BILD concerning Harry Kane, Bayern Munich views Sesko as one of two potential replacements should Kane decide to leave.
The report stated: ‘Names such as Benjamin Sesko (21/RB Leipzig) or Viktor Gyokeres (26/Sporting) have been discussed internally.
‘Both would cost a high transfer fee of around 70 million euros, but would receive significantly less salary than Kane, who came to Bayern as a top star and earns an estimated 25 million euros a year.’
As previously stated, Kane can’t utilize his exit clause to leave this upcoming summer because he didn’t activate it during the winter transfer window.
Therefore, Arsenal needs to secure a deal for Sesko before Bayern Munich makes their move, especially considering the possibility of Kane returning to England in 2026.
