Silly Season Begins As Mourinho Targets Kane

In the past week Manchester United fans pulses have been rising somewhat with the potential of Cristiano Ronaldo making a return to Old Trafford. The 32 year old has reportedly been unhappy at the fact that he has been embroiled in a Spanish tax case, one that could set him back a cool £13m.

He is reportedly so perturbed by the fact that he has to settle this tax bill that he is ready to say adios to the recent La Liga and Champions League winners. The European Championship winner is set to testify on the 31st July in regards to his tax affairs but that could still give him enough time to move during this transfer window.

Now they say in football that you should never go back and Cristiano Ronaldo will be well heeled in taking that advice as many of had made returns to a club and the second stint has in no way been as successful as the first, in doing so tainting what memories the fans may have had of you.

With that in mind and the potential outlay that Jose Mourinho would have to fork out to reunite the two after their time at the Santiago Bernabeu perhaps the former Real Madrid is going to look elsewhere for a blockbuster summer move.

And if you believe what you read in the gossip columns today then that man could be none other than Harry Kane, according to the Sunday Mirror (which in fairness is not the most reputable tabloid paper, although I’ll give it some credit at least it is not The S*n)

It is believed that Mourinho is ready to table a bid of £100m for the England international and current holder of the Premier League Golden Boot for the last two seasons. As fanciful as that is, is it an idea that is even going to get out of the starting blocks?

Yes United have money to burn as they once again look to spend their way to success, that strategy last season only saw them finish 6th in the league although it did deliver a whole host of silverware. It was a very tenuous treble of sorts with the Community Shield, EFL Cup and Europa League now being added to the club’s trophy cabinet.

But as much as the tens of millions or should that even be hundreds of millions are burning a hole in Jose Mourinho’s pocket right now has he gone to the wrong club in which to land his marquee signing in this transfer window.

That is because although Tottenham may be in the midst of a stadium move which to a certain degree is going to limit their spending power, they are not in the same situation as their neighbours Arsenal who were very much in a sell to buy era when they moved into The Emirates.

So from a financial standpoint Daniel Levy will be able to swat away any gargantuan bid for Harry Kane this summer, that in itself is a measure of just how far the club have come over the past decade. Previously they have lost Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov to the Red Devils when they were in the feeder club to the giants role.

Thankfully though those shackles have now been stripped and Tottenham no longer see themselves as having to be a producer of players that will then get cherry picked by a small cabal of clubs that would usually sit above them. Not only that but Tottenham have finished above United in the past two seasons.

When you compare the size of the two clubs then without question United are the bigger but in the here and now a player like Harry Kane would have to ask himself ‘Why would you want to move from Tottenham to Manchester United’

Especially when Tottenham move into a new stadium in a years time, this is a club on the crest of something very exciting especially after their 2nd place last season and it is almost unfathomable that someone of Kane’s ilk would be ready to walk away from it.

On a domestic level I cannot see Kane considering any move right now, if he ever should move then it would only be to one of the biggest clubs in Europe and by proxy we usually end up speaking about the Spanish giants Real Madrid or Barcelona.

Of course money does have a habit of talking the loudest and if United were to add an extra £10m or so on to that figure then perhaps Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy will have to consider if one player is truly bigger than the club, but to be perfectly honest that is just me playing Devil’s Advocate.

Quite frankly we are in silly season right now where there is no action to talk about and newspapers need to sell papers, so as per usual it is the simple equation of two plus two equaling five. It does however mean that the hunt for Mourinho’s big money capture continues.

Rebuffed by Antoine Griezmann after his decision to stay with Atletico Madrid due to their transfer ban being upheld and any hopes of signing Gareth Bale had also cooled after his decision to stay at the Bernabeu. It does seem as if he is running out of options.

Talks to sign Alvaro Morata are still in the works but is that quite the top bracket signing that both he and the fans would have expected during this transfer window, the way things are going it is the one that looks more likely. Then again there is always Cristiano Ronaldo…. just don’t expect Harry Kane to be in a United shirt next season