Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane is reportedly unlikely to give any consideration to a Tottenham Hotspur homecoming so long as Daniel Levy remains at the club.
The England captain was blocked from leaving North London in 2021 by the Spurs chairman, who rejected the advances of Manchester City to hold on to his star striker.
Another two years passed without Spurs ending their trophy drought, though, and Kane's desire to leave in search of silverware was an open secret, but Levy remained unwavering in his position.
Kane had entered the final 12 months of his contract earlier this summer, but Levy refused to do business with Manchester United and also rejected multiple bids from Bayern in the hope that Kane would eventually agree to a contract extension.
However, the 30-year-old did not show any willingness to pen fresh terms, forcing Levy to reluctantly accept a £100m proposal from Bayern in order to avoid the possibility of Kane leaving for free in 2024.
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Kane's contract at the Allianz Arena runs until the end of the 2026-27 season, but Levy recently claimed that his side have a buyback clause included as part of the agreement.
A report from the Daily Mail claims that facilitating the striker's return will not be so simple, though, as Spurs' option is not a straightforward buyback clause as previously stated.
Instead, Tottenham would only have first refusal if Kane ever wanted to go back to the Premier League, as the Englishman made no secret of his desire to break Alan Shearer's all-time goalscoring record.
However, Spurs would still need to come to an agreement over a fee with Bayern, and the Lilywhites may also struggle to convince Kane to come back owing to his strained relationship with Levy.
The report alleges that Levy became "increasingly difficult" to deal with once he accepted that Kane could not be tied down to a new contract, and he reneged on terms of the Bayern deal that all parties had previously shaken hands on.
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Kane's journey to Bavaria was delayed as a result, and the attacker was also barred from re-entering the club's Enfield training base just before completing his switch to the German champions.
Nevertheless, the 30-year-old told a press conference earlier this week that he would likely keep an eye on Spurs' results for the rest of his life, saying: "I am really happy to see the team playing the way they are and, of course, to see their fans happy as well is a great thing.
"Fantastic start - I am always keeping an eye on them and think I will keep an eye on Tottenham for the rest of my life. I am sure they will be excited to keep that up. They have a massive game coming up (against Arsenal on Sunday), so for sure I will see how they get on over the course of the season."
Kane scored one and set up another during Bayern's 4-3 Champions League win over Manchester United on Wednesday, taking his total for FC Hollywood to five goals and two assists from his opening six matches.
Since the striker's departure, Tottenham have taken 13 points from their first five Premier League games under Ange Postecoglou, marking their best start to a league season in 58 years.
Ben Knapton
