Manchester United are engineering themselves fully back into the mix to sign Harry Kane after putting into plan a new tactic aimed at forcing his sale by Tottenham Hotspur.
The talismanic striker enjoyed a memorable season on a personal level for club and country, even if things did not go as planned for his Spurs and England. Indeed, he became leading scorer for both Tottenham and then England after smashing in 32 goals in 49 appearances for the north London side.
With 213 Premier League goals to his name, he now stands 47 short of Alan Shearer's all-time tally. If he maintains his current scoring form, that record will tumble at around Easter 2025.
And for the Three Lions, five goals in four appearances over 2023 now means Kane is his country's all-time top scorer too. He now boasts 58 strikes from 84 appearances for England.
Yet at club level, Tottenham endured a miserable season. After removing Antonio Conte from the hotseat early, Spurs suffered an end-of-season collapse that saw them tumble down the league. They ultimately finished in eighth place, outside the European places.
Clearly for a player of his abilities, Kane needs trophies. And having never lifted any silverware in his career, time is running out. To that end, Rio Ferdinand has told a 'dour and drab' Tottenham to pray over Kane's future.
Since the season ended, though, Kane has found himself linked with plenty of moves. And while Bayern Munich appear to be out the running, the likes of PSG and Real Madrid remain hot on his trail.
As for United, their trail appears to have gone cold.
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And while Erik ten Hag would reportedly love to sign the striker, club chiefs fear a long and wasteful pursuit will damage their summer transfer plans.
To that end, it was ultimately concluded that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy simply would not sell them the striker.
However, The Sun reports a spectacular shift in tactics from United has dramatically rekindled their plan to sign Kane.
And they report that they have informed the 29-year-old striker that if he wants to make the move happen, he should put in a transfer request at Tottenham to make it happen.
In a final attempt to make the move to happen, they state Manchester United chiefs are instructing Kane to hit Spurs with an exit request or strongly-worded statement to force them into his sale.
The Red Devils value Kane, who has one year left on his deal and turns 30 next month, at around £80m. Yet reports have claimed that Spurs chairman Levy will seek north of £100m for the striker.
And while Levy runs the risk of losing him for free next year, he is reportedly dead-set against selling him to a Premier League rival.
But United reportedly hope the new tactic will back Tottenham into a corner.
There still remains a long way to go in any transfer proceedings and before a move can come off. But United reportedly feel the approach is their only chance of sealing the transfer.
And while the move would significantly enhance United's - and Kane's - trophy chances, it would seriously weaken Spurs.
However, with one year left on his deal, and unless he signs an extension, the matter is coming to a head one way or another whether they like it not.
READ MORE: Man Utd come to massive Harry Kane decision as bargain option leaves Ten Hag chasing potential over proven commodity