Even today the Sky headline is Kane flattered by United interest - Not Kane happy at Big Club Tottenham!
I have no issue with the player and club talking...i do have a problem with other players publicly sticking their noses in like rooney has done...i have a problem with managers doing it publicly like jol did with downing from boro but my major problem is how the papers and talksport and sky act as recruiting agents for the top 4. Only top 4 clubs deny this happens but it is constant. Sky, the press and talksport did this with berbatov from 6 months after he joined us... As soon as we failed to get top 4 in 2006 they started on carrick to man utd...they are now doing it with kane. He has said he is happy at spurs, he is not leaving etc. yet neville (ex united working in media) gives interviews about how kane would be good for united. Constant stories i the press about him leaving, phone ins on talksport about where next for kane...so kane give an interview stating he thinks he is at a big club and talksport play this interview this morning ... and their phone in? Shoukd harry kane go to united. Imo united encourage this behaviour because it suits them ... how does lloris know of uniteds interest? Cos of the press...how do the press know? Cos of united.
I'm largely with you on this RCL, but not about Lloris. His knowledge of United's interest is probably more direct.
I said from the very beginning that these "rumours" appeared, that Kane is going nowhere for some time. It's not just that Levy won't let him go (and certainly not to United), nor that I cannot see Kane acting in the utterly unprofessional manner in which both Berbatov and Modric acted; it's to do with the fact that, like Ledley, Kane came through our academy, and has been given his big chance by the club that has nurtured him since his pre-teens, and that has looked after his family, etc. I can understand it when foreign players come to Spurs and then have their heads turned by clubs above us; and the truth is that they view us as a stepping-stone, in any event. It's upsetting to be rejected by these players, but that's life, I can deal with it. So, too, with Bale. We can hardly expect players with Bale's mentality to be loyal to us when he couldn't even be loyal to the club that found him, nurtured him, looked after his family, etc. I was hurt that Bale left our club, not because I felt any sense of betrayal, but simply because I knew that we were losing the best player I'd seen at the club since Gazza. But, with Kane, it's different. He's one of our own. He's been given his big chance by the club that has looked after him since he was 11 years old. He knows the place, and knows that the fans love him, already. He has all the potential to be a club legend - a real legend, not some fake, plastic, stolen legend at a club like United. Perhaps he will leave the club, eventually; but I see him doing more of a "Sherringham" than a "Berbatov." Kane is going to be with us for a long time, yet.
Just to touch further on the "narrative" debate when it comes to the media ... BBC London News ran a 'Kane flattered by Man Utd interest' story last night. Blah blah blah, and then they showed some of the Kane TV interview. The interesting thing was where the BBC stopped the clip. Right before the next sentences, which were : "Tottenham are one of the big clubs. That is the way people have to see it. I am at a big club." Now I can understand that time may be tight for TV programme control, but are they telling me they couldn't spare the extra 5-6 seconds to get at least two of those sentences in ... ??
I'm yet to be convinced Kane is a player any club would splash £40-50M on without hestitation. He's had an exceptionally good two thirds of a season, but before that he was being loaned everywhere with limited success. He might have suddenly blossomed into a world beater or he might be a fairly good player who just had a purple patch. Having just spent £30M+ on a striker, I'm not sure Utd have another £30-40M readily available to find out which it is. That would be better spent on a top class centre half. Can't help feeling this is just typical media hype to generate interest halfway through the summer break.
You keep believing that, Little Luke, and we'll keep our hands on Kane. I don't want us sell him for £50m or a £100m.
As a Liverpool fan, Id give anything for a striker the quality of Kane, with a clear injury record, and the right attitude on and off the pitch.
I'd be worried about spending any amount on strikers while van Gaal's in charge, to be honest. Rooney and van Persie combined only managed one more league goal last season than Kane. They were outscored by Chadli and Eriksen, while Falcao was on a par with Danny Rose. Spurs were hardly free-scoring and dangerous offensively, but United were all over the place at times. Stumbling on a formula that worked, due to suspensions and injuries, dug the manager out of a hole, but the forward line misfired all season. Van Gaal had a decent set of players, but failed to get the best out of them, especially the forwards. How many teams in the league would've been extremely happy with Rooney, van Persie, Falcao, Mata and Di Maria as attacking options this time last year? Did any of them have a season that was anywhere near what they'd class as being successful? It was his first season in England and he's got a fantastic pedigree, but Utd fans won't have been impressed by van Gaal's first campaign at Old Trafford. He spent big and only achieved the bare minimum standard for the club nowdays, in my opinion. There will be more pressure this time out, the Champions League to contend with and less patience shown for any failures.
Behave. 33 league games, 21 goals. You wouldn't have said the same about Van Persie when he finished top scorer despite an awful run of form midway through the season. It's all jealousy, Luke. We all know you'll be holding up a sign with "Dear mr Van Gaal, please sign Kane" at Old Trafford in August
I'm not saying I don't want him YV. I'm questioning how keenly Utd would/should now be pursuing a player with a 5 year contract for the sums of money being talked about.
Kane's marketability is similar to Rooney's when he moved. Having England's darling can be very lucrative and you only have to look at the attention he got on our post season tour to see how popular he is across the World. Is £50mill more than the £25-30mill you paid for Rooney 10 or so years ago? United's revenue more than doubled between 2004 and 2014 and your record transfer fee has nearly doubled too so the money being talked about isn't that unreasonable. The only questionable thing about your pursuit of him is why you're wasting your time trying to sign a player that isn't interested
