Bayern Munich reportedly want to sign Harry Kane this summer, and Manchester United may well be keeping a close eye on the German side's moves in the transfer market.
The Bundesliga side are claimed to have seen two bids rejected for the England captain. An initial offer of €70m (£60m) plus add-ons was knocked back, before Spurs rebuffed the follow-up bid of €80m (£68m) with add-ons. Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is seemingly holding out for £100m for Kane - who has one year left on his contract with the club.
Manchester United have been relentlessly linked to the 29-year-old this year, but that price tag has seen the Old Trafford side cool their interest and instead target Atalanta forward Rasmus Hojlund. But, while a move for Kane appears highly unlikely now, the noise around him could still be of interest to Erik ten Hag and co.
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It's reported that Bayern are looking to sell seven players in order to fund a deal for Kane. Manager Thomas Tuchel views Kane as the man to eventually replace Robert Lewandowski, who left the Allianz Arena one year ago. Three players potentially set to be sold are Sadio Mane, Ryan Gravenberch and United's loan man from last season, Marcel Sabitzer.
Former Liverpool star Mane did not quite hit the heights expected last season. Having only signed for Bayern last summer, it's claimed that £17m could be enough for the Bundesliga outfit to part ways. Sabitzer, meanwhile, is 'available' for £13m given that Tuchel does not have him in his plans.
But the one which intrigues the most is Gravenberch - a player who has worked under Ten Hag before and has been linked with United plenty of times. Bayern's valuation of the Dutchman is said to be £34m, having signed at the same time as Mane. The player spoke openly about his frustrations last season, given the lack of game time.
He told ESPN: "I expected to play more minutes than I did. I thought I would get some more chances. It’s about just wanting to play, that’s the most important thing at my age. I hope this can happen at Bayern Munich, otherwise we’ll just have to look further. I told everyone that I don’t want another year like that. Of course you can’t always be in the starting XI, but you can still play regularly, you can get a lot of minutes."
After landing Mason Mount from Chelsea, and with Andre Onana and Hojlund both targets, United will have to look for savvy pick-ups in the market. Ten Hag's budget is not enormous and so player sales will be key. Gravenberch, though - a player who could ease the burden on Casemiro - looks attainable for a fair price. Ten Hag made him the youngest player in Eredivisie history during their days at Ajax. Could their careers yet cross paths again? You certainly wouldn't rule it out.
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