Harry Kane (31, Bayern Munich) firmly ruled out rumors of a return to the Premier League (PL).

On the 2nd (Korean time), British '90MIN' reported, "Kane broke his silence about the possibility of returning to the PL amid consolidation with Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur. He directly excluded the possibility of leaving Bayern this summer."

Kane recently opened up about his future in an interview with 'ESPN'. He dismissed the rumors, saying, "I don’t know where some random stories came from. I’m definitely happy at Bayern Munich."

Of course, he left the door open to the possibility of returning to his home country someday. Kane's contract with Bayern runs until 2027. When asked if he could return to the PL in the future, he said, "I don’t know. I don’t like to think too far ahead in my career. I’m really happy here. It’s a fantastic team and coaching staff."

Kane added, "In football, a lot can change in a short period of time, and anything can happen. But ultimately, I'm focused here. I'm not thinking about other leagues or teams. And I like to ride the wave in football. Right now, the wave is starting at Bayern Munich."

Kane has been a so-called 'homegrown talent' since growing up in the Tottenham Academy since 2004. After joining the Tottenham youth team at age 11, he made his first-team debut, scoring 280 goals in 435 matches while wearing a Tottenham uniform from 2011 to 2023. Although he spent significant time on loan early in his career, he is a legendary striker with the most goals in Tottenham's history.

However, Kane left Tottenham, where he spent over 10 years, in the summer of 2023 to transfer to Bayern, "the club with the most championships in Germany." The transfer fee reached a staggering €95 million (about 150.3 billion won).

Kane collaborated with Son Heung-min to score 47 goals only in the league during their time at Tottenham, setting the record for the most combined goals in PL history. However, he chose to leave Son and wear the number 9 jersey for Bayern, aiming for trophies.

Last season, he was unable to achieve his goals. Kane scored 44 goals and provided 12 assists in his debut season with Bayern, sweeping the European Golden Shoe, UEFA Champions League (UCL) top scorer, and Bundesliga top scorer awards. However, Bayern faced a ghostly title-less season for the first time in 12 years.

This season could be different. Bayern is currently at the top of the Bundesliga with their newly appointed manager Vincent Kompany and has reached the quarter-finals of the UCL. Kane is also aiming for the top scorer title for the second consecutive season, having scored 22 goals in the Bundesliga. This presents a golden opportunity to escape a title-less season.

Recently, speculation arose that Kane could soon leave Bayern to return to the PL. This gossip intensified after it became known that Kane's contract includes a buyout clause. His buyout amount is currently £67 million (about 126.8 billion won) and will decrease to £54 million (about 102.2 billion won) by January next year.

In particular, it is claimed that Liverpool could be a likely destination for Kane. Spanish 'El Nacional' reported that Kane wishes to finish his career in England and prefers Liverpool. Premier League’s all-time top scorer (260 goals), Alan Shearer, also noted, "Liverpool would be a good choice for Kane. He will score goals."

Mick Brown, a former Tottenham scout, shared a similar view. He said, "From what I’ve heard, Kane wants to return to England. Manchester United is interested, but their financial situation is tight. In contrast, Liverpool is financially more stable," fueling speculation about a transfer.

However, it seems unlikely that Kane will leave Bayern this summer to return to England. It is more probable that he will return to the PL after more time has passed or after achieving his dream of winning the UCL with Bayern.

Kane has consistently expressed his desire to win the UCL and the Ballon d’Or. Responding to a question in March during the international match period about whether he had the Ballon d’Or in mind, he said, "Absolutely. I scored over 40 goals last season. But I felt that I would never win it because I didn’t get a trophy."

His former team Tottenham was also mentioned. Kane said, "No matter how many goals I score at Tottenham, I felt that I could never be a candidate for the Ballon d’Or if I didn’t win the league or the UCL. I was 10th in the Ballon d’Or ranking during my time at Tottenham. I think that was probably the highest rank I could achieve."

In this ESPN interview, Kane reflected once again on his time at Tottenham. He said, "Every season when I played in the biggest games, I thought we could win. There were times like that at Tottenham... We challenged for titles and had an amazing time reaching the UCL final. However, it didn’t happen consistently. It wasn’t every year."

Kane also added, "I'm spending my second season at Bayern and have the opportunity to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League for the second time. It’s another title race. All these factors play a role. Bayern is one of the biggest clubs in the world. Playing for them is exciting."

[Photo] ⓒGettyimages (No unauthorized reproduction or redistribution), ESPN, Talk Sport, B/R Football, 365 Scores social media.

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