Spurs edge closer to transfer funds boost as Liverpool eye bargain Lavia alternative

Bad news for north Londoners (well, half of them, anyway) – Sky Sports’ Kaveh Solhekol has reported that Harry Kane’s long-mooted move to Munich is getting an awful lot closer, with both Tottenham Hotspur and Bavarian giants Bayern “confident of a deal”.

That deal – which is still subject to further negotiation – is worth up to €95m (which would add around £80m to Spurs’ transfer budget, or perhaps reignite plans for the stadium’s dedicated cheese room) including add-ons, and the 30-year-old striker would become Bayern’s top earner and record signing in the same stroke with a five-year deal in prospect.

Daniel Levy’s long resistance seems to be wearing down and this may indeed be the long-awaited end of Kane’s time at Spurs and his pursuit of Alan Shearer’s increasingly secure all-time goalscoring record for the Premier League. The decisive meeting hasn’t yet taken place, but we’re starting to talk in days and hours, not months.

The 3AM Verdict: The question isn’t really about whether Kane will leave – that looks almost inevitable at this stage – but how Spurs will replace him. Do they rely on Richarlison? Or will £80m be enough to come in for a big name striker from elsewhere? The saga has rumbled on long enough for Ange Postecoglou and company to have done their homework, so it will be interesting to see if they have – after all, Daniel Levy does love leaving his deals until transfer deadline day just to save a few quid…

Liverpool’s Lavia bid laughed off

Meanwhile, it’s also bad news for Merseysiders (well, half of them, anyway) – Liverpool’s latest bid for top midfield target Roméo Lavia was rejected by Southampton within an hour, with the Saints holding firm as they target £50m for the young Belgian international, according to Sky Sports.

Liverpool’s bid was believed to be for less than £40m up front with add-ons taking it a little over that mark, and the speed with which Southampton sent their return e-mail may prove rather off-putting – and will certainly give the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal hopes of muscling back in on the bidding.

The good news is that Liverpool have an alternative lined up – they’ve made contact with Brazilian outfit Fluminense over 22-year-old midfielder André. The Brazilian is likely to be substantially cheaper, with £20m the approximate price tag.

The 3AM Verdict: A confession – a quick chat around the office reveals that nobody has ever seen André play, which makes having much of a “verdict” rather tricky. His stats reveal an extremely tidy passer who gets a nosebleed whenever he gets within 20 yard of the goal, while his Wikipedia page has all sorts of formatting issues and claims he scored 69 goals in 17 Brazilian Cup games last season. Which seems unlikely. Anyway, is he worth around 40% a Lavia? Absolutely no clue. Sorry.

Everton finally find a forward

Good news now on Merseyside (the other half of it, anyway). Having missed out on El Bilal Touré, and having been unable to agree a fee for Willy Gnonto, and having been turned down by a staggering number of youthful forwards over the past month or so, they’ve finally got their man. Well, one of their men.

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Sporting Lisbon’s Youseff Chermiti underwent a medical yesterday evening ahead of a move worth an initial £12m with £3m in extras should Everton go well with their new man. Which is a welcome relief given news of Dwight McNeil’s injury, which should keep him out for the opening game of the season.

The 3AM Verdict: Will the 19-year-old striker help Everton ease their goal drought? Well, he managed three goals in 21 first-team games last season, so there’s an argument that the answer is no. But quite a few Portuguese observers of the game rate him as a pretty big prospect and he’s certainly always busy in the box, so don’t rule him out just yet. Probably one more for the future than for this coming season – and therefore arguably not what Everton really need.