Revealed: Latest on Barcelona's attempt to land Harry Kane
Harry Kane is happy in Munich. I was there in May and it is easy to see why. His smile in training was as bright as the silverware soon to be his.
He is adored, scoring more goals than ever and fitter than ever. He lives in a hilltop mansion with his young family and gets a free delivery of schnitzels most mornings. A local restaurant owner vowed to do that every time Kane scores - 146 schnitzels later, he insists he does not regret the promise.
But would Kane rue resisting the overtures of Barcelona and one last adventure?
As Daily Mail Sport exclusively revealed on Sunday, a phone call from the Spanish giants went into the striker's camp exploring a move.
Out of respect to Bayern and with the focus this summer on the World Cup, the conversation lasted no more than five minutes. Any such talks will be put off until after the finals.
Harry Kane will have to weigh up his Bayern Munich future if Barcelona go all out to get him
Even then, the focus will be discussions with Bayern over the extension of a contract that has 12 months to run.
Barcelona, though, are not going away. Other targets such as Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez are being pursued, but they will, we are told, revisit Kane's situation once England's participation here in North America is done.
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MICHAEL OWEN: Harry Kane is our best ever striker - and he wasn't even born with finisher instinct!
Our sources say they would be prepared to go all out should there be any encouragement that a deal is possible.
Bayern do not want to sell Kane and nor does he want to leave. But happiness and fulfilment are not always the same thing. There is no greater institution in world football than Barcelona, even if Real Madrid would dispute that. With that comes an obvious allure.
Kane turns 33 next month and has given Bayern three wonderful years.
But Bayern is not Barca and the Bundesliga is not LaLiga. Der Klassiker is not El Clasico. Der Klassiker is Bayern versus Dortmund, by the way. El Clasico needs no introduction.
Robert Lewandowski left Bayern for Barcelona at 33 and scored 120 goals across four seasons before announcing his departure in May. That is why they need a striker. That is why they have enquired about Kane.
He is better than Lewandowski, both now and at the same age. As a goalscorer, he is better than everyone.
That is what Michael Owen wrote in his Daily Mail Sport column this week, but he also made the point that Kane is better than the league in which he plays.
'My one gripe with Harry is the move to Bayern Munich,' said Owen. 'I understand the benefits, and England will hopefully see that in the next few weeks. But in terms of his career, he is better than the Bundesliga.
Kane is England captain at the World Cup and so his club future will stay in the background
He is settled in Germany with wife Katie (left) and their children and Bayern want him to stay
'I have watched the league more now because of Harry, and beyond Bayern it is very ordinary. Week after week he is playing for a team that dominates possession, dominates territory and creates chance after chance.
'Of course he scores goals. Winning Bundesliga titles with Bayern was never going to define his greatness because Bayern almost always win them. Had Bayern won the Champions League, perhaps we'd view it differently, but they haven't.'
Owen's former England team-mate, Gary Neville, reacted to our story on Monday.
'I can see why Barcelona would want him,' he told Sky Sports.
'I can see why any club in the world would want him that is trying to win trophies at an elite level.
'Harry Kane is as reliable as you can get. In football and in life, you want reliability. You want players who you know are going to deliver for you. He does that.'
But does Kane want reliability? Bayern gives him that. It is stable, familiar and guarantees success. Barca would represent risk, but also, you suspect, a far greater reward.
Kane does not have an ego in a traditional sense - he is the humblest of superstars - but he does not score the goals he does without a stubborn streak of high self-regard.
If he does fancy Barca when the picture over his future becomes more clear post tournament, it would be a surprise but not necessarily a shock. He still wears the scars of his loyalty to Tottenham.
Barcelona is one of the most attractive clubs to play for and Daily Mail Sport understands they are ready to push the boat out for Kane following the departure of Robert Lewandowski to MLS
The likelihood remains that Bayern will offer Kane the package he deserves. There are no push factors here. But there is the pull of Barcelona. The Nou Camp. Lamine Yamal. The club of Lionel Messi. Bayern is logical, Barca can be irresistible.
Kane has seen what a new challenge can do for your career by moving to Bayern. He showed he was willing to sacrifice the Premier League goalscoring record in doing so. He wanted medals and he has them now. The chances are he will sign a new deal and there will be more.
Yet, the silver sparkles a little more beneath the Catalan sun. It always has and it always will. Only time will tell if Kane's head can be turned by football's brightest stage.
Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
