Liverpool's outgoing director of research, Dr. Ian Graham, has claimed that any club interested in signing Harry Kane this summer 'doesn't care' about getting their money's worth.
Manchester United have earmarked the Tottenham Hotspur striker as their preferred target to strengthen their attacking options. The club is in desperate need of a world-class striker and manager Erik ten Hag has pinpointed Kane as the ideal candidate.
The England captain, who scored 32 goals in all competitions this season, is out of contract at Spurs in 12 months' time, meaning this summer could represent their last opportunity to sell him for a big-money transfer fee. However, the Reds are currently working under the assumption that the Londoners will not let him go.
United are exploring other avenues in their efforts to recruit an alternative option and have identified Atalanta ace Rasmus Hojlund as an attainable target. The likes of Victor Osimhen of Napoli and Eintracht Frankfurt ace Randal Kolo Muani also remain options.
READ MORE: Rasmus Hojlund has impressed Erik ten Hag for two reasons
Kane, though, is Ten Hag's desired preference and he would be the closest guarantee to providing the goals that United are in desperate need of. However, signing him would require a big-money transfer fee, something that Graham has warned the Reds about when recently addressing the striker's future.
Asked which club Kane will end up at this summer, Graham, speaking at the Cheltenham Science Festival, said: "A club that doesn't care about value for money. He's 29. It's going to be a high transfer fee for three years of performance that might start declining.
"From a data point of view, it's magnificent the way Alex Ferguson constructed a team that was ageing just as he left. It really did cement his legacy."
Of the six strikers United are understood to have identified as possible solutions to their goalscoring troubles, Kane is the oldest, meaning he would have the lowest resale value in years to come. Nevertheless, it is possible that United, such is their stature, could be planning to sign the England ace with a view to him finishing his career at Old Trafford.
He is only 47 goals shy of equalling Alan Shearer's all-time Premier League goals record of 260, meaning that will no doubt be his ambition and something that he considers when deciding on his future. Real Madrid have also been recently linked with his signature.
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