Harry Kane has been praised by Erik ten Hag as a "great player and great personality" in the midst of Manchester United's interest in the Tottenham forward.
Kane is the goal that Ten Hag prefers to pursue in order to hone a lax assault in the summer, but according to insiders, United are hesitant to participate in any matches with Daniel Levy, the chairman of Tottenham.
Since Dimitar Berbatov on transfer deadline day in 2008, United has not acquired a player from Tottenham, while Manchester City's £100 million attempt to acquire Kane two years ago was unsuccessful.
As he approaches the end of his contract with Tottenham, who were thrashed 6-1 by Newcastle on Sunday and fired interim manager Cristian Stellini on Monday, Kane's career is at a crossroads.
Kane's contract expires next year, and Champions League qualifying is improbable, thus United has emerged as the captain of England's likely destination should he choose to go for another English team.
Prior to United's Thursday night trip to Tottenham, Ten Hag expressed his appreciation for Kane, 29, but he would not comment on the possibility of him donning a red shirt.
"First of all, the number of goals," Ten Hag said when asked what impressed him most about Kane, "and also his key actions [that] come to a goal. Final passes as well. He is just a great player. Great personality as well."
When it was later suggested to Ten Hag the United squad required more personalities to handle setbacks such as the surrender in Seville last week, he concurred. "Yeah, definitely. But it is just be composed be calm, carry on, play your game, stick to the plan, stick together. it is about issues like this."
"I think we need leadership in such moments who know how to do it and they have already proved it here but also in other clubs how to deal with it. It must not be such a big problem as it is in this moment in some games and certain occasions. But I also want to emphasise there are other situations where we dealt very well with it."
Ten Hag initially hesitated when he was asked if Kane would fit in at United. "I am preparing my team tomorrow for a game against Spurs. He is one of the players that we have to face of Spurs, so I don’t think about anything else."
United, who are currently in fourth position, are six points ahead of Spurs, who are now in sixth place following their humiliation at St. James' Park and Aston Villa's victory against Fulham on Tuesday night.
United also has two games to play against Tottenham and one game to play against Newcastle, who are in third place but ahead of United on goal differential.
Villa has made a tardy and improbable attempt to qualify for the Champions League, but they have played three more games than United. Although Villa are scheduled to visit Old Trafford on Sunday, Ten Hag is only concerned with the game at Spurs.
"I don’t look that far, it is about from game to game and we have to win every game," he reiterated. "Tomorrow is a great opportunity, so make sure we are ready for that game, get a result and get a win there."
"The points are more expensive in this period of the season, so make sure you are really ready. It is a final. We are playing finals. We have shown we know how to approach finals, but do it as a team, be ready as an individual."
"It is about eight games but go from game to game so we don’t have to think about [the FA Cup final] in this moment because that is far ahead. We think only about the game tomorrow and that is what I demand from my players."
The Man United and Harry Kane's transfer saga
Despite Erik ten Hag's desire to sign Harry Kane, Manchester United is hesitant to get involved in a dispute with Tottenham over the striker.
Daniel Levy, chairman of Spurs, is known for dragging out discussions for transactions involving Tottenham players, according to sources, therefore United does not want to become involved in his games.
In the summer of 2021, Manchester City tried unsuccessfully to acquire Kane; it wasn't until August 25 that Kane announced he would remain at Spurs.
Spurs were certain to keep Kane throughout the summer, and City was unable to defend the expense of both Kane and the £100 million acquisition of Jack Grealish.
Since Dimitar Berbatov's transfer on transfer deadline day in 2008 for a then-club record £30.75 million, United have not acquired a player from Tottenham. Levy was able to increase the cost due to City's acquisition by the Abu Dhabi Group earlier in the day and their late proposal for Harry signature.
Kane, 29, has scored 26 goals for his side this year and is close to the end of his deal with Tottenham. Spurs are currently sixth after Aston Villa overtook them with a win over Fulham on Tuesday night, making it appear as though they will not make it into the Champions League.
Kane, the captain of England, has never claimed a major prize, and United have emerged as the only Premier League team that might be able to pry Kane away from Spurs. Tottenham has gone 15 seasons in a row without winning a title.
Fourth-placed Prior to the teams' encounter on Thursday night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, United is six points ahead of Spurs and has two games left. United already has the League Cup, and this past weekend, they advanced to the FA Cup final.
Despite credible sources claiming that Ten Hag is "obsessed" with Kane, United is also considering Napoli's prolific goal striker Victor Osimhen.
Osimhen, 24, has scored 26 goals in 32 appearances this season, helping Napoli win their first Italian championship since 1990 almost certainly. The striker Edinson Cavani and Gonzalo Higuain received the highest transfer prices for Napoli in 2013 and 2018, respectively, while the Nigerian international has a deal with Naples through 2025.
Randal Kolo Muani of Eintracht Frankfurt and Rasmus Hojlund of Atalanta have been targets for United, and Ten Hag is a fan of Goncalo Ramos of Benfica and Mohammed Kudus of Ajax.
Daniel Levy's stance on Harry Kane's future
Tottenham Hotspur's chairman understands that a player of Harry Kane's quality needs trophies as souvenirs to prove his qualities as a legendary footballer, and that's the bait rivals are hoping to throw in and lure Harry Kane away from Spurs.
The 29-year-old hasn't lifted a trophy yet and lost out in one of the biggest finals of his career, the 2018/2019 UEFA Champions League finals, to Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.
However, Daniel Levy is adamant that Tottenham Hotspur's record goalscorer will lift a trophy at the club. When questioned by the Cambridge Union if Kane must leave Spurs in order to win a trophy, Levy responded as follows: “He can absolutely win a trophy at Spurs."
“But being a legend is also important. The fact that he’s top scorer of Tottenham Hotspur – he’s making history.
“I hope one day that there is a statue of Harry Kane outside our stadium.”
This summer, Manchester United has been the primary Premier League club mentioned in connection with a transfer of Harry Kane. Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain have also been mentioned.
Levy denied claims that he is the Premier League's toughest negotiator while also appearing to warn the Red Devils that luring Kane away won't be simple.
“I don’t consider myself a special negotiator or anything like that, I’m just acting in the best interests of my club,” said Levy.
“I think when it comes to the transfer it depends on the balance of power.
“If you have a player who you really don’t want to sell then you have every right to say no, you own the registration.
“It depends also on the character of the player, whether you feel at the end you can keep the player because we’re operating in a team sport, it’s very important that we keep the team together."
“Every circumstance is different," he explained.
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