With it becoming more and more likely that England captain and Tottenham star striker Harry Kane will be leaving north London this summer, the question arises: should Manchester United pay the otherworldly fee for him?
It is likely that the minimum Tottenham will let Kane go for is around £150,000,000. While Manchester United is definitely capable of spending that kind of money, is it worth it? I don’t believe it is, as United has a few holes to fill that will put them in a better position to win a Premier League title than Harry Kane would.
First off, Kane is one of the best players in the world, and whichever club he is playing for next season will be better because of his presence. However, the main reason I am against United signing Kane is one person: Mason Greenwood, a 19 year-old star boy out of the Manchester United academy. The forward can play on the wing or centrally, but I personally prefer Greenwood in the center of attack. This past season, Greenwood bagged seven goals and assisted on two in the Premier League. In his first year playing senior team soccer, Greenwood had 10 goals and one assist in the Premier League.
Greenwood has a ton of potential and is still extremely young. While Kane is easily the better player, he is 27 and would stunt the growth of the young star. Kane does not look like he is slowing down at all as well, which means Greenwood would have a much harder time seeing the pitch in the “9” role.
Instead, I believe Manchester United should use the funds that could go towards Harry Kane, and bolster the rest of their squad. United are already linked with England international and Bundesliga star Jadon Sancho. His club, Dortmund, is asking for around €90,000,000 as a transfer fee. Sancho is a great player and could help fill a slight need for United on the right wing. Sancho can create with the best of the best, and is a goal/assist machine. This past season for Dortmund, Sancho had eight goals and 12 assists in only 26 appearances for the German side. A front three of Marcus Rashford on the left, Greenwood in the center, and Sancho on the right would be one of, if not the best, attacks in the Premier League.
As stated earlier, Manchester United has a lot of money, and that is not the only move they should make. Another transfer I think would improve the Red Devils is West Ham’s Declan Rice. Rice, a defensive midfielder, would be key to helping stabilize the defense, and improve the midfield. Towards the end of the season, United would sometimes move star Paul Pogba outside on the left or right so they could play two central defensive midfielders in Scott McTominay and Fred. Both these players are very average, and bringing Rice in would let Pogba play in his normal box-to-box central midfielder role while Bruno Fernandes can continue to play as the “10.”
Most of soccer is played in the middle of the pitch, and having a midfield that would be able to dominate like a Rice-Pogba-Fernandes one could is something not a lot of clubs have. The only hurdle Manchester United would have to overcome is seeing if West Ham is willing to give up Rice, as they are now competing in Europa League and seem to have a bright future. However, Manchester United should have enough money for transfers to make this move happen.
Finally, instead of going all out for Kane, United should use the last bit of their transfer money to buy a center back to pair with captain Harry Maguire. Maguire is coming off an excellent season, even without a high level partner. Pau Torres from Villareal seems like a reasonable fit for United. If they make the other moves laid out in this article, Torres would be a high quality, low fee, transfer. While Villareal did not finish well in La Liga, he still put up good performances week in and week out. In addition, Torres is left-footed, which pairs really well with the right-footed Maguire. The final reason I believe United should go for Torres to fill their need at center back is that Villareal is not a rich club. The pandemic has impacted them, and United could probably take Torres from them for under market value. With this transfer, United could have a back four of Luke Shaw-Torres-Maguire-Aaron Wan Bissaka. That back four is pretty good, and with Dean Henderson continuing to prove himself as a young goalie, it may be very hard to score against Manchester United in the coming years.
While Harry Kane is an amazing player, Manchester United would be better off spending money on more positions and let Greenwood play striker this coming season. By doing this, there is a good chance Manchester United will win a Premier League title within the next three years.
