Harry Kane IS Manchester United’s No.1 summer transfer target - and they are prepared to make him the most expensive British player of all-time.
Erik ten Hag is on red alert as he searches for the final piece of the jigsaw at Old Trafford and he has decided England’s skipper is that man. The Spurs’ striker will be on the market after yet another campaign of disappointment with the north Londoners.
Kane is planning to hold talks with Spurs’ hierarchy at the end of the season but the chances of him agreeing to a new deal to stay beyond 2024 - when his current agreement expires - are non-existent.
The Dutchman knows that Kane’s arrival will turn the club into genuine title contenders to build on the good work he has already undertaken. But they will have to dig deep to land the hit-man as Spurs will drive a hard bargain with the bar expected to be set at over the £100m Manchester City paid Aston Villa for Jack Grealish.
Manchester United will have that money to spend in the summer but further big summer signings look unlikely as they concentrate their full focus on England’s captain
Ten Hag is sanctioning the deal because he remains unhappy with the resources spearheading the Red Devils’ attack. Wout Weghorst arrived on loan from Burnley - and has only ever been regarded as a stop-gap until the end of the season. And Anthony Martial’s injury issues are swaying ten Hag away from the Frenchman as a permanent and lasting solution to his problems.
Kane is seen as someone who can make an immediate impact and the evidence provided by Casemiro’s arrival has only added weight to the argument that the forward can hit the ground running.
When the midfield kingpin arrived from Real Madrid, eyebrows were raised at the size of the fee for a player who turned 30 in February last year.
But he has slotted seamlessly into life at Old Trafford and given full value for the £60m paid to Los Blancos. Ten Hag believes Kane would do similar and raise expectations that the wait for the Premier League title to return will be over.