Harry Kane breaks silence on Thomas Tuchel sacking amid ‘dressing room divide’

Harry Kane has called on his Bayern Munich teammates to step up after it was announced Thomas Tuchel will leave the Bundesliga giants at the end of the season.

The former Chelsea chief guided Bayern to the German title after replacing Julian Nagelsmann last March but has struggled in his second season. Pressure has grown on him in recent weeks with Bayern well behind Bayer Leverkusen in the title race.

Bayern confirmed last week that they would be seeking a new head coach in the summer after agreeing to part company with Tuchel. And Kane, who joined Bayern from Tottenham in the summer, has admitted that his exit is partly on the players.

Speaking after a 2-1 win over RB Leipzig, Kane said: “The club made a decision. We players have to show our responsibility to the manager, our responsibility to the club, to give everything we have for the season. We knew as players we haven’t been performing as well as we can. You can’t just sit there and talk about it. You have to fight and work hard at every moment and that’s what we did today.”

It emerged earlier this week that Tuchel’s future had divided opinion inside the dressing room, with German outlet Bild claiming that 12 first-team players were split over whether or not they wanted Tuchel to remain at the club.

Kane, who was signed by Tuchel in the summer, was one of the players supporting him behind the scenes. Eric Dier and club captain Manuel Neuer were some of the other stars who were pro-Tuchel.

Serge Gnabry, Leon Goretzka, Matthijs De Ligt, and Mathys Tel were some of the players who the report claims were less keen on Tuchel staying put. It’s also alleged that Goretzka, in particular, was bemused by the club’s initial decision to part company with Nagelsmann.

Now the dust has settled on Bayern’s announcement, the focus has now turned to who will be replacing Tuchel at the Allianz Arena next season. Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso is expected to feature prominently in the club’s search for a new boss just weeks after thrashing Tuchel’s side 3-0 in a high-stakes Bundesliga clash.

The Spaniard, 42, has excelled at Leverkusen in his managerial role and as the club on course for their first-ever German title. They remain eight points ahead of Bayern in the table after the latest round of fixtures.

Alonso is also likely to be courted by Liverpool in the summer, though, as the Reds seek a successor to Jurgen Klopp. Klopp’s chances of taking over at Bayern have already been played down by his agent.