Fabrizio Romano claims Man Utd will face a "very slow deal" if they want to seal Harry Kane's signature at some point over the summer transfer window.
The Red Devils are desperate to sign a new centre-forward this summer with Erik ten Hag still looking to sign a long-term replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, who left the club at the end of November after a controversial interview with Piers Morgan.
They brought in Wout Weghorst as a temporary replacement for Ronaldo but they have now made it their top priority to sign a striker permanently this summer.
Widespread reports have indicated that Tottenham striker Kane was their top target - but Man Utd decided to give up their pursuit as it became clear Spurs chairman Daniel Levy had no intention of selling him to a Premier League rival.
A report yesterday indicated that Kane is still hopeful that Man Utd come back in for him this summer and there are rumours he has emerged as a top target for Paris Saint-Germain.
And Romano is predicting a 'very slow deal' if Man Utd or any other side manage to convince Levy that the sale of Kane would be a good idea.
Romano wrote in his Caught Offside column: "Some big strikers will be on the market this summer, but at the moment there's also a lot of noise on some names, without anything concrete happening, so I wanted to clear up some of the speculation here.
"To start with, despite reports from France mentioning Harry Kane being a top target for PSG, there is absolutely no news on the Tottenham striker at this stage and honestly I'm not surprised. I've always said that it was going to be difficult to negotiate with Tottenham, but also very slow deal.
"Nothing is concrete now and Spurs will fight to keep the player until the end. We've heard various times that he was close to Man United, Real Madrid. and it was not the case. Let's see what's next but Daniel Levy will fight to keep Kane.
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"I'm also not hearing anything concrete on Lautaro Martinez at this stage, despite recent links with Chelsea and now with Manchester United. I'm sure Inter want to keep Lautaro because he's a crucial player.
"Remember - they play with two strikers upfront, and they don't have any agreement yet with Chelsea for Romelu Lukaku and Edin Dzeko is close to leaving as a free agent, so at the moment they have Lautaro.. and Correa, who's available on the market and for sale. Selling Lautaro would mean to have zero strikers for next season. At the moment, there's nothing. Only crazy bids could change this scenario.
"I've also had some fans asking me to reiterate the situation on Joao Felix. I don't know if things could change, but Chelsea are not working on Joao as things stand, no. Atletico Madrid are very open: if a good bid arrives, they are open to selling him. Otherwise, he will have a new opportunity under Diego Simeone as he extended his contract six months ago. Nothing is advanced with any club yet, my guess is that this could be one for July/August."