Manchester United have one thing Real Madrid can't offer Harry Kane

The chances were already looking slim and now they're that skinny they would fall through a grid.

Manchester United want Harry Kane. That much was clear months ago and it's easy to see why. Despite the huge improvements made under Erik ten Hag, his side is light on firepower. In fact, the progress the manager has made is even more impressive for that fact.

Of teams in the top 10, only Brentford and Aston Villa scored fewer than United last season and the burden was mostly on Marcus Rashford to grab them. United are fortunate that their main man roared back to his best form after struggling the year before, otherwise things might not look quite as rosy. When defensive midfielder Casemiro is third in your list of players who have made the most goal contributions in all competitions you know something is going wrong.

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But just add Kane to the mix and those problems are near-guaranteed to evaporate like a puddle on a sunny day. The England captain has been upstaged by the freak of nature that is Erling Haaland this year but still managed to net 30 league goals, the fourth time he has hit the mark and the ninth season in succession he has got at least 20. That's a remarkable rate of consistency and the reliable source of goals United have been crying out for for a decade.

With Kane desperate to finally add some silverware to his exceptional career and his contract going into the final year, the stars looked as though they could be aligning for United to swoop in and make the massive signing. There's just one problem: Tottenham.

Having astutely tied their talisman down to a six-year deal, Spurs have never been under pressure to sell Kane and were even