With the transfer window already open for business, one of the biggest deals to be done is for Man United to tempt Tottenham Hotspur into selling their talisman, Harry Kane.
It seems clear that the England captain and record goalscorer wants to continue in the Premier League given that one of his stated aims for his career is to beat Alan Shearer’s Premier League goals record, which would certainly hand the Red Devils an advantage over teams on the continent.
The issue that remains is that Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, has never really shown any inclination that he wants to sell the striker.
Given that Kane only has a year left on his contract and could leave for nothing in 12 month’s time, Levy is playing a very dangerous game indeed.
Transfer expert and reliable journalist, Fabrizio Romano, has been across this story from the beginning, and he wrote about the latest developments in his exclusive CaughtOffside Substack.
‘It’s important to clarify the situation around Harry Kane. Never say never in the transfer market, but for now it’s going to be quiet because Manchester United won’t spend three months on a deal they don’t consider possible, at least that’s their position at the moment,’ he wrote.
‘Kane is considered a perfect striker for Erik ten Hag and his style of football, but it was never going to be easy to negotiate with Tottenham. So now, after internal meetings, they believe this is a really difficult target, and they are prepared to move on to other targets, one of whom is Rasmus Hojlund.
‘The main reason the Kane deal is so difficult is Tottenham – they have no intention to negotiate with Manchester United, they don’t want to sell. Even if Spurs were to open the door to Manchester United, this deal would probably be too expensive.
‘United love the player, but they know it makes no sense to spend two or three months on such a difficult and costly deal. I also can’t see any other Premier League clubs having much luck with Kane, but for clubs from abroad it could be a different story.’
Though no one knows what Kane thinks about the situation at this stage, one can assume that if Levy denies his striker another dream move – after doing so a couple of years ago when it seemed odds on he’d move to Man City – he will simply walk away from the club in a year.
Any notion that Spurs would get him to sign a new deal and keep him at White Hart Lane for the rest of his career is surely fanciful from the powers that be.
It also asks a question of how Tottenham can justify their business model, given that they are potentially turning down in the region of £100m at this point.