Manchester United have reportedly stolen a march on Bayern Munich in the race to sign Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane, as the German champions are not prepared to enter a bidding war for his services.
The England captain will be able to walk away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on a free transfer in 2024 as things stand, and talks over a new deal are yet to progress beyond a preliminary stage.
Kane is focusing on the end of the season with Tottenham before giving any consideration to a new deal, but he will turn 30 this summer without having won a major trophy.
Tottenham will pull out all the stops to tie the 29-year-old down to a new contract, and they are thought to be prepared to block offers this summer and risk the striker entering the final year of his deal.
However, Bayern and Man United are expected to test Spurs' resolve in the upcoming window, and the Red Devils appear to have jumped to the head of the queue.
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According to The Mirror, Tottenham will still demand as much as £100m to part ways with Kane this summer if it becomes clear that he will not sign a new deal, and Man United are best-placed to fork out the funds.
In contrast, Bayern have no intention of entering a bidding war for the England skipper, even though they are prepared to break their all-time transfer record of £70.8m, which they paid Atletico Madrid for Lucas Hernandez in 2019.
A nine-figure fee would be too excessive for Thomas Tuchel's side, though, with the club's chief financial officer Dr Michael Diederich suggesting that a £100m deal is not feasible.
"I don't rule anything out but can we afford such a transfer and do we want such a transfer? We have to keep an eye on our profitability," the publication quotes Diederich as saying.
Bayern are already believed to have earmarked Eintracht Frankfurt's Randal Kolo Muani as an alternative option, while Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has agreed a new one-year contract at the Allianz Arena.
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Kane has supposedly informed his friends that he will not be signing a new contract with Tottenham, whose chairman Daniel Levy is determined not to allow a marquee player to join either of the Manchester clubs.
However, Levy's hand may be forced if Man United show a willingness to pay his £100m valuation, and Kane has suggested that he wants to remain in the Premier League as he endeavours to break Alan Shearer's all-time goalscoring record.
The 29-year-old - who became England's all-time leading goalscorer last month - scored his 206th Premier League goal in Saturday's 2-1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion after Son Heung-min became the first Asian player to bring up a century of Premier League goals.
Kane's total for the Lilywhites now stands 273 goals and 63 assists from 427 matches across all competitions, and Levy memorably blocked the marksman from leaving in 2021 amid firm interest from Manchester City.
Man United are not expected to sign Burnley loanee Wout Weghorst permanently this summer, while the injury-plagued Anthony Martial could be made available for transfer at the end of the season.
Ben Knapton
