Chelsea have been given a huge boost to their hopes of signing Harry Kane. The 31-year-old striker has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge on numerous occasions in the past, but – naturally – the Blues' rivalry with Tottenham Hotspur always proved to be a stumbling block.

After winning the Premier League Golden Boot in 2017, scoring 29 goals in 30 games, Antonio Conte revealed the club's interest in Kane. Despite having recently signed Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid for £65m, the then-Chelsea boss said: "If I had to buy one striker, I’d go for Kane.

"For me, Kane is one of the best strikers in the world. He is just a complete striker. If you go to buy Kane now, it would be at least £100m. If I see this price for a striker, I know for sure he’s a big striker."

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A few years later, Thomas Tuchel reminded Tottenham of Chelsea's interest in Kane. Speaking to reporters in May 2021, the former Blues boss said: "If you find any coach around the world who would not like to have Harry Kane in his team, call me again.

"I would like to speak with the guy and hear about his ideas of scoring and attacking. Everybody loves Harry Kane but let’s be very, very clear, he is a player for Tottenham He has a long-term contract and we will not get involved in any press conference with any disrespectful comments about that."

Kane continued to be linked with a move to Chelsea after the club's ownership changed hands in May 2022. In July 2023, Mauricio Pochettino was quizzed on the England international's future and, while he remained coy, the former Blues boss teased a potential swoop.

"I don’t like to talk about players in another club, but you are talking about one of the greatest, one of the best strikers in the world," said Pochettino. "It’s not fair to talk, it’s not fair to say nothing.

"People are not stupid, fans are not stupid, they are so clever and they know my relationship with him was always amazing. I saw him when he was young, grow up and achieve all he was achieving and of course we have a great relationship."

It remains to be seen whether or not Maresca is as fond of Kane as his predecessors at Stamford Bridge, but Chelsea have finally been given the chance to wrap up an eight-year transfer pursuit. According to reports in Germany via The Telegraph, the former Tottenham captain has a release clause in his contract at Bayern Munich.

The report by Bild claims that a £67m release clause was available during the January transfer window, and it'll reactivate – and reduce – to £54m next winter. That said, it's believed Kane is 'extremely happy' in Germany and he has no thoughts of leaving the Allianz Arena.

The Telegraph add that Premier League clubs are already aware of the clause in the striker's deal, which runs until June 2027. While the Blues have a brilliant chance to finally land Kane, Spurs reportedly negotiated a 'first option agreement' as part of his £100m transfer back in August 2023.

The Telegraph outline that if Chelsea – or any other club – were to trigger the aforementioned release clause then Tottenham would have match the bid and hope Kane prefers a return to North London.