Ahead of the Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur meeting, Erik ten Hag has spoken about Harry Kane’s qualities but has refused to get involved in talks the England forward could move to Old Trafford in the summer.
Manchester United are looking for a striker ahead of the transfer window and Kane is approaching the final year of his Tottenham contract.
Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen were on Ten Hag’s radar but asked if Kane would suit his team, Ten Hag remained tight-lipped.
“I’m preparing my team for the game against Spurs,” Ten Hag told a news conference on Wednesday ahead of the trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as quoted by ESPN.
“He is one of the players we have to face from Spurs, so I’m not thinking about anything else,” he continued.
Erik ten Hag admits he is a fan of Harry Kane, who has scored 24 goals in the Premier League this season.
“Number of goals, and also his key actions [which] led to goals, last passes too, he’s just a great player, great personality too,” added Ten Hag.
As sources have told ESPN, signing a top striker is Manchester United’s priority this summer, despite some reluctance at Old Trafford to enter into negotiations with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.
Ten Hag would ideally want additional signings before the US pre-season tour, which begins in July, and there are fears that Levy may want to start a bidding war for Kane, who also has interest from Bayern Munich, and could extend any deal until the end of the window. transfer.
“I think we need to strengthen the team and add more positions, as well as the depth of the squad,” said Ten Hag.
“But don’t think about that at the moment. It’s not about that. So far, we’ve had a great season so keep it up, keep improving, keep going and the team is doing really well and I think it’s great to be part of this team. We have to keep it up “We have good players, a great team, a great year, but success is only if we keep going.”
Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag hopes Jadon Sancho’s penalty shoot-out against Brighton on Sunday will help the winger rediscover his best form for the season.
Sancho, who missed a penalty in England’s penalty shootout defeat to Italy in the European Championship final in 2020, has endured a difficult campaign and took time off from the club at the end of 2022 to focus on his physical and mental condition.
“I think also we’ve seen very good Jadon this season and I think definitely that moment on Sunday will strengthen him even more, give him more courage, more belief, for sure,” said Ten Hag.
“We all know what happened and I think you have to recognize it and appreciate it, what he did on Sunday, stepped behind the ball and it was a great penalty. I am very confident and the same you can say for Rashy [Marcus Rashford ] — very sure. They stepped over the tram sign and that’s very good, it shows that they have character and personality and that can help us.
“There’s a lot of questions about getting back into the game and it’s the same as in the game; show personality and when things don’t go your way make sure you turn it around.”
