Daniel Levy has rejected suggestions he is a "special negotiator" despite his reputation in the transfer market that once led Sir Alex Ferguson to claim he was "more painful that a hip replacement".
The Tottenham chairman, who has been at the helm for two decades, has seen players come and go in north London. He's presided over some major deals, including the then world-record departure of Gareth Bale in 2013. His immediate priority now is keeping hold of talisman Harry Kane.
The forward, who will soon have a year left on his deal, is attracting interest once again amid suggestions he could leave. Tottenham previously fended off Manchester City by placing a huge price tag on the player, which they refused to negotiate on.
Levy is adamant that he simply puts his own club first as he told the Cambridge Union: "I don’t consider myself a special negotiator or anything like that, I’m just acting in the best interests of my club. I think when it comes to the transfer it depends on the balance of power.
"If you have a player who you really don’t want to sell then you have every right to say no, you own the registration. It depends also on the character of the player, whether you feel at the end you can keep the player because we’re operating in a team sport, it’s very important that we keep the team together. Every circumstance is different."
United, during the Premier League era, have captured some of Tottenham's leading lights in the past. Ferguson went after Michael Carrick in 2006, eventually getting a deal over the line despite Levy continuing to up the asking price, which the Scot labelled as "typical".
He said previously: "I must say negotiations were very difficult and went on for ages. I always remember I thought it was done and [former Spurs chief executive] David Gill phoned me on the golf course to say they want more. Typical Daniel Levy! It was very hard to negotiate but, at the end of the day, we got it through and, ever since he joined us, he’s had a fantastic career."
Two years later and United were back at the negotiation table with Levy, which turned out to be a lengthy process as the Bulgarian signed at the eleventh hour for a hefty £30.75m. Ferguson though claimed: "That whole experience was more painful than my hip replacement!"
Kane could be the next man United target as they seek a new No.9, but Tottenham won't give up the fight easily with Levy again ready to dig his heels in as he rejected suggestions the record goalscorer must leave to win silverware. "He can absolutely win a trophy at Spurs," he declared.
