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Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane was intent on sealing a move to Manchester United, even if he had to wait for an extra year to do so.
This summer, Kane was at the top of Erik ten Hag’s transfer list.
However, it soon became clear that Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy had no intention of negotiating with a direct Premier League rival for the sale of his talisman.
United moved on and signed 20-year-old Rasmus Hojlund for £72 million instead.
This gave Bayern the chance to pounce. The Bundesliga champions stepped up their interest in the England captain and agreed a fee of north of £100 million with Tottenham for their record goalscorer.
According to The Daily Mail’s Chris Wheeler, United were Kane’s first choice ahead of Bayern.
“Harry Kane would have waited until next summer to sign for Manchester United if he was given assurances over a move to Old Trafford, United Confidential can exclusively reveal.”
“Kane had set his heart on United and would have seen out the final 12 months of his contract at Spurs before signing for Erik ten Hag’s side as a free agent next year if he knew the deal was guaranteed to go ahead.”
Wheeler adds, “Kane was prepared to defy Spurs and sit tight for another 12 months if he felt United were prepared to keep the door open for him.”
The Englishman has had a fairytale start to life at the Allianz Arena, where he has scored four goals in his first five games for the German giants.
He will undoubtedly be seeking to show the Red Devils what they missed out on when the two European powerhouses clash tomorrow in a Group A fixture of the Champions League.
The Athletic reports that Ten Hag and some members of staff within Old Trafford were of the opinion that Kane would transform them into genuine title challengers.
Ten Hag pushed club bosses to test the waters and see just how strong Tottenham’s resolve to keep their star player was.
However, football director John Murtough decided that United would find themselves locked in protracted talks with Daniel Levy, and so he switched tact to focus on more attainable targets like Hojlund.
The Athletic further states, “Ultimately, co-owner Joel Glazer and chief executive Richard Arnold decided going for Kane was not a reasonable use of resources when factoring in his age.
“United had been told Kane was seeking £30 million ($37.1m) in annual wages, about £500,000 per week, and after adding in an expected transfer fee of more than £100 million, the club ruled the cost to be too high for a 30-year-old.”
Laurie Whitwell explains that Kane made enquiries about the state of United and while he was open to joining Ten Hag’s ranks, the 30-year-old also harboured reservations about whether Old Trafford was the best destination for him.
Bayern, with their guarantee of trophies and chances of challenging for the Champions League, were deemed better prospects by Kane and his camp.