Manchester United summer transfer decision will be the biggest test yet of recruitment changes

Six months ago the Manchester United striker search was dominated by two names. Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen were the players circulating at the top of the list and it looked like a case of either one of those two leading the line for Erik ten Hag’s team next season.

But now we are in the white heat of a transfer window the equation looks less simple. It’s reaching the point where it would be a surprise if United landed either one of the two truly elite strikers that looked like they might be on the market this summer.

Kane is Ten Hag’s top target and he has a year left to run on his contract at Tottenham with little intention of signing an extension as things stand. But the obdurate Daniel Levy is digging his heels in and United know how hard striking a deal with the Spurs chairman can be.

Levy is desperate not to sell Kane to one of their Premier League rivals. Interest from Real Madrid, who need a replacement for Karim Benzeama, could offer him an appealing route to still getting a fee for the club’s record goalscorer, but he might also opt to keep Kane and risk him leaving for nothing in 2024.

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United might be interested again in 12 months' time but it doesn’t solve their need in the here and now. Kane is a guarantee of goals in the Premier League and his 30 in 2022/23 was a remarkable total given the struggles his team endured.

He turns 30 in July but would still significantly improve Ten Hag’s team, where the shortage of an elite striker was one of the most glaring holes in the team last season.

If not Kane, then Osimhen always looked like a viable alternative. The 24-year-old scored 31 goals in 39 games for Napoli this season,