Tottenham will only sell Harry Kane for £100m up front
The England captain will enter the final year of his contract at the end of this season
Tottenham Hotspur would want £100 million in one up-front payment to consider selling Harry Kane this summer.
The England captain will enter the final year of his contract at the end of this season and Tottenham will demand such a large fee to deter Manchester United, who have placed Kane, 29, on a shortlist of striker targets. Clubs usually pay transfer fees in instalments to preserve their budget.
Tottenham do not want to sell the forward to a domestic rival and rejected an offer from Manchester City in 2021 worth a guaranteed £75 million, rising to £100 million, when Kane still had three years on his deal.
United believe it will take a bid of £100 million to open talks but Spurs, who say they have never put a price tag on Kane, know United will not want to be involved in lengthy and complicated negotiations because it could hinder their plans to reshape the attack for next season.
United also have bad memories of dealing with Tottenham when they signed Dimitar Berbatov in 2008, which contributed to them not pursuing a move for the former Spurs centre back Toby Alderweireld in 2018.
Kane plans to discuss his future with Tottenham at the end of the season when there may also be interest from Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. Moving abroad, however, would impact Kane’s stated desire to break Alan Shearer’s record of 260 Premier League goals, which is likely to take at least two more seasons after he reached 204 with a strike against Southampton on Saturday.
For that reason, Tottenham remain quietly confident that Kane will be at the club next season.
If they are proven right, they will try to persuade him to sign a new contract during the campaign if it becomes clear that he does not have a suitable domestic option to leave as a free agent in the summer of 2024. Reports have suggested that Kane is open to reviving contract talks with Spurs.
There is no reason to suggest Tottenham feel they have to cash in this summer. When Christian Eriksen entered the final year of his contract, Tottenham held on and sold the midfielder with only six months left on his deal.
Tottenham also know their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League will be enhanced by holding on to Kane and are more willing to accept he could leave on a free transfer in the knowledge that he did not cost the club anything, having come through the academy.
United acknowledge that they must sign a top-class striker this summer if they are to maintain the momentum that Erik ten Hag has built up after his appointment as manager last year.
Two more players that feature on United’s shortlist are Super Eagles and Napoli Victor Osimhen, the 24-year-old Nigeria striker who plays for Napoli, and Benjamin Sesko of RB Salzburg. Sesko, 19, has agreed a £20 million move to Salzburg’s German sister club RB Leipzig this summer, but United — or any other suitor — could try to persuade the two clubs to cancel the agreement by paying a higher fee.
