Tottenham Hotspur remain adamant that they will not sell Harry Kane to Manchester United or any other club this summer. Daniel Levy, the Spurs chairman, met Ed Woodward, the Old Trafford executive vice-chairman, in May as stories first emerged of United’s interest in Kane and he made it plain that he would not entertain any bids for his club’s prized asset. That position has not changed.
The United manager, Louis van Gaal, has few options up front beyond Wayne Rooney, and he suggested after his team’s 1-0 win over Spurs on Saturday that he would like to add a high-class forward. “When we can buy another striker, who has a lot of qualities, more than our players, then we buy,” the Dutchman said. He is also on record as stating his admiration for Kane.
United have not made an official bid for Kane but they are considering whether to do so. Behind Rooney, Van Gaal has Javier Hernández and James Wilson while he also name-checked Adnan Januzaj as a possible option on Saturday. He has seen Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao leave the club this summer. But any firm move for Kane will be met by strong resistance at White Hart Lane while the 22-year-old, who is under contract until 2020, has shown no inclination to push for the transfer.
Spurs want to sign a new striker as, with Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado having been made available for transfer, Kane is currently their only available, recognised option. They would like to take Hernández from United but Levy knows that any conversation with Woodward about the Mexico forward would inevitably lead to Kane’s name coming up. As such, Tottenham fear that a deal for Hernández would be difficult to close.
The north London club have an interest in the West Bromwich Albion striker Saido Berahino while they are close to a £10m deal for the Lyon forward Clinton N’Jie, who can play up front or on the right wing.
Tottenham have made an offer to Lyon for the 21-year-old Cameroon international and they believe it is close to being accepted but they also recognise that the French club need time to line up a replacement for such an important player – the arrival of Mathieu Valbuena from Dynamo Moscow, which was confirmed on Tuesday, may hasten N’Jie’s exit. The negotiations are ongoing. N’Jie has exciting potential and is blessed with a good touch but his greatest attribute is his pace, which is something that Tottenham sorely lack.
The manager, Mauricio Pochettino, has said that Adebayor has no future at the club – together with the out-of-favour winger Aaron Lennon – and the attempts to move him continue, with West Ham United having indicated that they would like to take him. The Hammers were close to a loan for the Togolese last January only for Levy to block the deal at the last minute – much to the annoyance of Adebayor, who has one year to run on his £100,000-a-week contract.
There is bad blood between Levy and West Ham over the battle for the Olympic Stadium – which West Ham won – and it is unclear whether Levy would now be more receptive to dealing with the east London club over Adebayor.
Aston Villa have tried to sign Adebayor too, and, from Tottenham’s side, everything was agreed for a season-long loan to go through, with Villa paying a loan fee and picking up all of his wages. Adebayor, though, dragged his heels. Tim Sherwood, the Villa manager, who previously worked with the forward at Spurs, refused to rule out reviving the deal last Friday.
Soldado is expected to complete a move back to his native Spain after a disappointing two years, with Villarreal leading the chase for him. Pochettino has said that Soldado could yet return to contention if he is not sold but it remains most likely that he will leave.
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