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A combination of Harry Kane’s astronomical wage demands and Tottenham Hotspurs’s extremely high valuation of their player eventually convinced Manchester United to end their pursuit in the star.
Heading into the transfer window, Kane was understood to be Erik ten Hag’s number one target for the striker position.
However, it soon became clear that United would need to overcome massive obstacles in their efforts to sign the 30-year-old.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy was widely thought to be extremely resistant to letting his talisman join a direct rival in the Premier League.
United’s only chance to sign Kane was to table an obscenely large bid, but with multiple other positions needing to be addressed and the limitations occasioned by a tight transfer budget, spending large on just one player could not be justified.
The Red Devils instead switched their attention on Rasmus Hojlund. An agreement has been reached with Atalanta over the 20-year-old’s services.
The Times reports that Tottenham demanded a £100 million for Kane – a sum United were reluctant to part with.
On top of this, the England captain demanded wages of up to £575,000-a-week. Such a figure would have been a huge challenge to the club’s existing wage structure which Ten Hag has worked hard to contain after Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit.
Bayern Munich are currently leading the race to sign Kane.
Should the Bavaria-based outfit fail to add him to their ranks, United will have another chance to get their man next summer when he becomes a free agent.
On Hojlund, Paul Hirst adds, “Should there be no hiccups with the paperwork or Hojlund’s medical, he will complete his transfer to Old Trafford this week and could make his debut in Saturday’s home friendly against Lens or the away game against Athletic Bilbao the next day in Dublin.”
Hirst also mentions that depending on the departures of the likes of Donny van de Beek, Harry Maguire, Scott McTominay, Dean Henderson and Fred, United will look into making a swoop for Fiorentina’s Sofyan Amrabat.