It's the international break so what else is there to do but look forward and dream of the perfect transfer window for Manchester United?
Go on, do it. Close your eyes and let your thoughts drift like a leaf in the early spring breeze. Can you picture it? United have beaten Manchester City and Real Madrid to the signing of Jude Bellingham! What's that? Frenkie de Jong has decided to leave Barcelona after all? The Glazers are gone!
But then you hit a fork in the road. Even in dreams, you can't have it all and signing two world-class strikers in the same window is impossible. So which one do you choose? Harry Kane or Victor Osimhen?
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It's the predicament facing United this summer and for Erik ten Hag's part, he is understood to have settled on Tottenham talisman Kane as his prime target. It's easy to see why considering he is a centre forward who can not only score at a remarkable rate but is also excellent in possession and building up play. It's clear how well he would fit in alongside Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and United's other attacking stars.
But that shouldn't completely rule Osimhen out. The Nigerian sensation is also on United's radar, along with Goncalo Ramos and Mohammed Kudus, and his 25 goals in 29 games have fired Napoli to the cusp of a historic Serie A title win and made an unthinkable double with the Champions League a very real possibility.
There are positives and negatives to signing either striker and United should consider three areas in particular, the first one being their ages. Kane will be 30 by the time next season begins.
Footballers are much fitter and healthier now so reaching the dreaded milestone is no longer a sure sign of decline. The England captain could well continue to bang them in for another five years, but with the amount of wear and tear on his body and the niggly injuries he's suffered over the years that's unlikely. United also signed Robin van Persie when he was on the cusp of 30 and that move proved to be well worth it but they only got one fantastic season out of him.
United must consider a similar outcome with Kane, who will cost significantly more than the previous North London-based striker starving for glory who moved to Old Trafford. In contrast, Osimhen is just 24 and has more than 400 matches fewer on the odometer than Kane. Though Osimhen has also had injuries, United's money would certainly be going further if they invested it in the younger man.
This brings us neatly to the fees. Kane's contract with Tottenham is due to expire in 2024 which has led to the thinking he could be available on the cheap if Spurs don't want to lose him for nothing in a year's time. But that's a pipedream.
Kane's 23-goal return this season is the only thing keeping Antonio Conte's hopeless side in the running for a top-four place. Losing out on the Champions League would be disastrous and it would almost certainly happen should Kane depart given their record of signing players.
It will be in Spurs' best interest to keep Kane for another year in the hope that what they miss out on in a transfer fee they regain in revenue in competitions and from qualifying again. Unless it's a ludicrous offer that exceeds those potential earnings.
Kane wanted to leave in 2021 for Manchester City but despite the disappointment of the deal not going through he has not kicked up a stink and continued to play at his best. It doesn't seem like that would change this time around so there is little risk in Spurs keeping an unhappy player.
As United have discovered before, dealing with Daniel Levy is no easy task and he has often managed to avoid selling star players to domestic rivals, as with Kane and City. It will be an incredibly difficult and expensive deal to pull off. It's hard to see Kane or Osimhen costing less than £100million so again it would perhaps be better for United to go for the younger option instead.
But with youth comes inexperience and if there's one area where Kane completely trumps Osimhen it's that he has been dominating the Premier League for years. Kane has scored over 20 goals in the last nine successive seasons, has reached 30 three times and hit the 40-mark once.
It's a remarkable run of consistent scoring and it makes Kane a guaranteed source of goals. If you put him in that United team, which is working so well despite having Wout Weghorst up front, he will absolutely bring the goals United have been missing. It could be enough to finally see them launch a genuine title challenge.
There is nothing saying Osimhen couldn't do that too but, with so many variables on moving to a new country and league, it's nowhere near as sure a bet as it is with Kane. When you're spending that amount of money, you want a sure bet.
Either striker would be an excellent signing but there is some deliberating to do on which path at the fork is the best to take.
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