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In the hours after Tottenham Hotspur finally agreed they would sell Harry Kane to Bayern Munich, there was actually some doubt, and a lot to consider. The player’s camp now had to actually go through with a decision that had been a long time coming, which only made it all the heavier in the moment. There was still some thinking that Real Madrid or Manchester United - Kane’s first choice - might come in now they knew Levy’s price. Even he wanted that higher going into the final hours. Those other bids didn’t happen, though, and it is now happening that Kane is leaving Spurs. Some within White Hart Lane couldn’t make sense of it, even though it had long been anticipated. A player who hailed as one of their own is no longer that. He’s gone. There is actually a sadness to that, in how the modern economy of football essentially forces players towards a narrow band of clubs. Spurs have once again been shown the reality of the game, although this is admittedly one where you can sympathise with some of the confusion. None of this is to disparage Bayern, one of the game’s great clubs, of the status that it is a genuine privilege to play for them. It is an honour to be their number-nine, following in the line of Gerd Muller, Jurgen Klinsmann and the player he most directly replaces in Robert Lewandowski. That will stand to Kane, especially as a rare high-profile English player to go abroad. In some ways, though, Bayern have been victims of the modern game as much as Spurs. Its distorted economics have given them a longer run of titles than they could have ever imagined, but with a cost. The more leagues they win, the less it means. Borussia Dortmund’s challenge last season should almost have been welcomed as it offered tension and significance. There’s then the manner that even Bayern have had to adapt to football’s new world, which is almost completely made up of the Premier League. This is where the real intrigue of the entire Kane situation lies. England’s captain and greatest star has left England when it has become almost the only place to be in football. That’s an irony only deepened by how a player commonly seen as the next great star, and a future captain in Jude Bellingham, is also employed outside. That point shouldn’t be taken as an old-fashioned parochial view, since it has generally been a positive thing for players to go and sample other football cultures and countries. Kane himself will doubtless benefit from that. It is healthy, even on a human level. The issue is how much the game has changed even in a decade. That world has become smaller, centred around England. Broadcasting figures illustrate how the Premier League has become the biggest show in town, “a football NBA”, in the words of one major club chief executive. “If you’re not there, you’re nowhere.” It’s not like Kane is going to Spain or Italy, either, the two most historically glamorous leagues that remain enriched by the nostalgia around them. Germany has always been the most unfashionable of the “big five”, although another consequence of the modern game is that term no longer really applies. It is the Premier League and some satellite clubs, one of them being Bayern. They will almost certainly allow Kane to claim that first medal of his career, but does it have the same value? For Kane’s part, that won’t matter if he’s looking at that medal. There’s also the fact that some of the more confusing aspects of this transfer are a logical consequence of how the game has gone. Levy is determined to gradually push Spurs into the elite bracket of super-clubs, even if so many supporters would fairly question the manner he goes about that. To the Tottenham chairman, though, it makes no sense to allow one of the clubs they see as direct rivals to strengthen at their expense. A club is always falling behind in that way. It is where there is even more intrigue to this transfer, though. While the public perception has been that Levy did not want to sell, some in the industry believe it has been more driven from within Spurs than would be expected. This allows the club a degree of control over the transfer, as well as - crucially - income. The great question from Kane’s part is why he has ceded that control. His leverage will never be greater. A contract with a year to go is the point of maximum opportunity for a player. His first choice was clearly Manchester United. The entire England squad were talking about it in the June camp. He has instead given that power up. That, admittedly, is partly about something greater. This isn’t about just getting Bundesligas, after all. Bayern have sold Kane a vision of winning the Champions League with him. They have quietly gone about building one of the most vibrant squads in Europe, but were just lacking experience last season as well as a finisher after Robert Lewandowski. They now have both in Kane. Him bringing them to a moment of completion such as Champions League glory would be worth it all. There is even the possibility that he could do two seasons at Bayern then go back to the Premier League club of his choosing, given how he looks after his body. This is another facet of Kane’s career. He sees Tom Brady as an idol, and is one of those who will do absolutely everything physically possible to maximise his talent. Except, many have long said, what is really necessary: go to a winning club. That is now happening. There is an undeniable poignancy to it, that should be felt beyond Spurs. More clubs should be able to compete. It shouldn’t always be so inevitable that such players leave. That is the nature of football’s economy now, as this transfer sums up, even if some of it seems to go against the modern game. Read More Harry Kane sends message to Tottenham fans as Bayern move confirmed Harry Kane saga leaves Tottenham paying the price for Daniel Levy’s ‘ego’ — again Premier League record scorers: How many goals do Alan Shearer and Harry Kane have? Harry Kane’s highs and lows at Tottenham as he signs with Bayern Munich Where Harry Kane’s big-money move stands in British football history 5 English success stories Harry Kane will look to emulate in Germany

Kevin Durant just got done with his summer vacation

The New Orleans Pelicans say Zion Williamson will miss Wednesday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to personal reasons

Tunisian star Ons Jabeur has backed the Women's Tennis Association over their decision to evaluate the potential for playing a...

We have a pretty loaded slate in the MLB today, and you can add on top of that the College World Series and the 2023 NBA Draft for an exciting sports day, especially for June.Maybe your attention is going to get pulled away from the MLB to get a look at all seven feet and five inches of Victor W...

When Sarina Wiegman saw Lauren James after her red card against Nigeria, the first thing the manager said to her was “it happens”. There was absolutely no castigation, a stance made easier by the player’s immediate apology and the fact England got through. It has made the squad’s World Cup that bit more complicated, though, not least because of the curious regulation that James may not even know her full punishment until after the quarter-final. It is a definite one-game ban until Fifa’s disciplinary committee review the incident, which isn’t certain to happen before Saturday. One thing we know is that, for all the obvious comparisons, this was never going to be a David Beckham 1998 or Wayne Rooney 2006. That isn’t just because England won on penalties. We are a long way from “10 Heroic Lions, One Stupid Boy”, particularly when it comes to women’s football. One of the most common responses after the game – beyond the question of what James was actually doing – was that she should be protected from the pitchforks that Rooney and Beckham faced. That is a good thing. It is just football, and she is only a 21-year-old experiencing a game of such intensity for the first time. Even a manager as experienced as Wiegman said she had never experienced a game as immersive as that, so what was it going to be like for someone so young facing such expectation? “They are in such an intense game and such an emotional game and, in a split second, she lost her emotions,” Wiegman said. That shouldn’t preclude a more constructive discussion about it all, that should serve James. Because, while it is just football, this is also elite sport. The team are going for the greatest prize in the game. Dealing with that pressure and everything the stage brings is a fundamental part of excelling; of fulfilling talent. Amid that, it is simply a pity that James might not now get to make this World Cup her own, in the manner she had been threatening. Her campaign was on one of those gloriously upward trajectories, with note-for-note perfection when it comes to the storyline of a young star going to the next level. She first got the crucial winner against Denmark, effectively announcing herself, before going to another level with her own personal highlights show against China. This ended up being part of the issue, though, that Nigeria played on and for a time so benefited from. James’ displays in that new No 10 role made her the player Randy Waldrum had to specifically plan for. Nigeria made a point of shutting her out of the game. There were constantly four players around her, isolating James and ensuring there was always a huge distance between her and other attackers. It was notable how often she began to drop back to pick up the ball. Those who know her say this was just one of many clear signs that she was getting frustrated, which is all the worse since she is one of those players who needs to feel like she is constantly in the game. James has never been one for waiting dangerously at the fringes. It says much that the England bench at least gave some consideration to taking her off before then, but Wiegman felt the game was too tight. That tightness only fed into James’ frustration, which she then took out on Michelle Alozie. It is something she is going to have to manage as she becomes one of the best players in the world. For their part, her teammates already told her that it’s something some of the best players were just as responsible for when they were younger. James pointed to how she just couldn’t get into the game. Amid the general sympathy, Wiegman offered a benign interpretation of the moment. “Absolutely she doesn’t want to hurt anyone. I haven’t seen it back. She doesn’t want to hurt anyone, and I think she agrees with that, too… she’s the sweetest person I know and, yeah, things happen like that. You can’t change it any more. It’s a huge lesson to learn but of course it’s not something she’s done on purpose.” It may well be true that James didn’t want to hurt Alozie given it was just a trod rather than a “stamp”, but it’s hard to say it was not on purpose. Having initially tripped over the Nigerian player, James could have easily not stepped on her. Alozie’s bemused response - which has itself already been the subject of many memes - said as much. Wiegman is good at this sort of management, though. The approach will be to bring James on. The hope is Fifa aren’t as forceful due to the more restrained nature of the contact, and that James’ teammates offer her another reprieve. They played their part in ensuring this wasn’t another national moment, although it shouldn’t have come to that anyway. It should just be a lesson, of the sort James will use to go to the next level. Read More In World Cup of revolving problems, Sarina Wiegman has another to solve England’s heroic penalty takers saved Lauren James from sporting ignominy How ‘arrogance’ and ‘complacency’ led to United States’ decline Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today Women’s World Cup golden boot: Who’s leading the top-scorer standings? Who and when do England play next? Lionesses route to the World Cup final

Tissanna Hickling qualified for her first senior world championships after she won the women’s long jump at the Jamaican...