Chelsea's swap offer for Harry Kane, as Man City & United stances revealed
Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea are all ‘in the market’ for Tottenham striker Harry Kane, who has expressed his desire to leave the north London club this summer.
Kane has grown frustrated at Spurs this season, with the club getting further and further away from challenging for major honours and increasingly failing to meet the player’s personal ambitions.
His record of 162 goals in 230 Premier League appearances since the start of the 2014/15 season alone tells its own story and he has returned to his best form in 2020/21 after putting two difficult years affected by ankle injuries behind him.
With United, City and Chelsea all looking for a new striker this summer, timing could be perfect, although the biggest obstacle will be breaking Tottenham’s refusal to sell.
Since losing Dimitar Berbatov to United in 2008, Spurs have made a habit of selling their biggest stars abroad when the time comes, rather than to domestic rivals, including the transfers of both Luka Modric and Gareth Bale to Real Madrid in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
However, Kane is widely thought to prefer to stay in the Premier League.
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has refused to rule out his club going after another striker this summer despite veteran stop-gap Edinson Cavani recently extending his contract. City need a replacement for Sergio Aguero, who will leave next month when his contract expires, while Chelsea still want a ‘number nine’ despite spending heavily on attacking players last summer.
All three have been eyeing Borussia Dortmund superstar Erling Haaland, although The Athletic notes that United in particular view the potential price of the Norwegian to be prohibitive. A €75m (£65m) release clause comes into effect next summer but there is also said to be general feeling that Haaland may prefer to join Real Madrid as his first choice when he does move on.
That reports adds that United have had Kane on their transfer radar since January amid growing awareness of his intent to leave Tottenham. It is said that the Old Trafford club are one of two sides to have made a ‘direct enquiry’ over the England captain and the response from Spurs did not ‘extinguish ambitions’, hinting a softer stance on the matter behind closed doors.
There is talk that an offer of £120m plus add-ons could be enough to prompt a sale, but United are not expected to spend that amount on any single player. Crucially, however, players in part-exchange could bring the figure down, with Anthony Martial already linked. Jesse Lingard could also be an option, although West Ham will be determined to secure him on a permanent deal.
As far as City are concerned, The Athletic writes that the club's analysis on Kane has shown that the areas of the pitch where he scores his goals don’t match up with where the current team creates most chances. However, the door is open to adaptation and it is said that manager Pep Guardiola sees the benefit of a team tweaking its approach from season to season.
90min first reported Chelsea’s interest in a new striker in December, initially making it known to Haaland’s representatives that they were very interested in him. The Blues have also since been linked with Sergio Aguero, who now looks likely to join Barcelona on a free transfer.
Chelsea have joined United and City in showing interest in Kane, despite being a fierce rivals of Spurs. ESPN writes that they are prepared to offer players in exchange as part of a cash plus player bid, with striker Tammy Abraham and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga among those they are willing to sacrifice – both have been on the fringes at Stamford Bridge this season.
Winger Callum Hudson-Odoi is another player mentioned as a possible makeweight, but Chelsea’s fear is that Spurs may flat out refuse to do business with them, even if they can ultimately be persuaded into listening to either of the Manchester clubs.
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