Harry Kane to Manchester City seems the most likely transfer outcome this summer, and Manchester United need to bring in Erling Haaland as an alternative, according to Luke Chadwick.
Although former Red Devils ace Chadwick is a big fan of Kane, he says that he expects a move to City looks more realistic and like a good fit for both sides this summer.
If Man Utd are to miss out on snapping up Spurs’ star player, Chadwick hopes they go for Borussia Dortmund goal machine Erling Haaland instead, as that’s the kind of player the club need to sign this summer if they are to genuinely challenge City for the Premier League title next season.
Pep Guardiola’s side won the league this term and will be even stronger if they land a player of Kane’s calibre, with Chadwick eager to see United respond to this potential move by making a top centre-forward purchase of their own.
“My heart’s hoping he ends up at Manchester United,” Chadwick told CaughtOffside.
“He’s done an unbelievable job at Spurs over the years, but wants to go on and win silverware, so my head says he probably will go to Manchester City – a team that creates so many chances and who’ll be losing their talisman in Sergio Aguero this summer.
“I just feel like it’s a good fit. Spurs obviously know he’s going to go, albeit they won’t want to sell to another Premier League club, but money talks at the end of the day.
“I’d love him to end up at Man United but I think his most likely destination is to end up with Pep Guardiola at Man City.
“The only player you could bring in to compete with a signing like Harry Kane would be Erling Haaland. They’re different players but both score a huge amount of goals.
“The only way you could respond to Kane joining City would be signing Haaland. Obviously there’s Kylian Mbappe but I don’t see that happening. Haaland’s obviously the other one apart from Kane who could give United the goals they need to win the league.”
Chadwick is also a fan of Haaland’s Dortmund team-mate Jadon Sancho, but believes goals have to be a priority for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this summer, or he’s going to be overly reliant on an ageing Edinson Cavani next season.
“Obviously Sancho’s a wonderful player, but goals win games,” Chadwick said. “It’s got to the stage where Cavani looks like he’s being relied on as the number one striker at the age of 34.
“I’m sure he’ll have a wonderful influence on the squad again next season, but I think the days of him scoring 25-30 goals a season are behind him. If City were to get Kane, it has to be someone of a similar quality who’d be competing to win the Golden Boot next season.”
Chadwick also responded to a question about why Liverpool don’t seem to be in the running for Kane at the moment, despite the need for an upgrade on out-of-form attacking duo Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.
Although Chadwick thinks the Reds wouldn’t turn down the chance to sign Kane if they could, he also expects that United and City have the financial edge in such a deal anyway.
“It’s hard to think they’d turn him down if they had the opportunity to buy him, but I don’t think Liverpool can compete financially with City or United for a signing like Harry Kane if I’m honest with you,” Chadwick said.
“They run things a bit differently in terms of how they put their squads together. Obviously they’ve spent money but when it comes to the absolute top-end players and record-breaking fees, Liverpool don’t tend to be mentioned in the same breath as United or City.”