"The situation is so delicate" - Dimitar Berbatov delivers verdict on whether Tottenham striker Harry Kane will move to Manchester United
Manchester United legend Dimitar Berbatov reclons Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane will remain at the club rather than head to Old Trafford.
Kane, 29, is being heavily linked with a move to the Red Devils amid Spurs' disappointing season. Their silverware drought since 2008 continued, as they exited all cup competitions but are now involved in a top-four race.
The England captain is contracted to Tottenham till 2024, but reports suggest that he could be off in the summer. Manchester United are long-term admirers of Kane, and Erik ten Hag is expected to be in the market for a high-profile centre-forward.
Kane has 25 goals in 42 games across competitions this season. Berbatov explained to Betfred how the north Londoners would be eager for their top goalscorer to stay at the club:
“His situation is so delicate, and he doesn’t have a lot of room to manoeuvre. Everybody connected to the club wants him to stay because he’s the guy that’s wearing the badge with pride and scoring goals."
Berbatov added:
“When I think of Tottenham, the first name that comes to mind is Harry Kane, and I’m sure that’s the same for everybody else."
The former Spurs and Manchester United striker added that Kane's legacy could be tarnished if he moves to Old Trafford:
"If Harry decides that he wants to try and force a move to another club, then his legacy is going to be tarnished to a degree, which is not going to be good for him because he wants, and already has, a great legacy with Spurs. This is why the situation is so delicate."
The Bulgarian admitted that he wouldn't know what to do if he were in Kane's shoes but thinks Kane will stay at Spurs:
“If I was Harry Kane, then I wouldn’t know what to do. Ultimately, I believe he will remain at Tottenham.”
The Times reports that Spurs will want £100 million paid upfront for Harry Kane to leave in the summer. The Lilywhites may not want to sell the forward to a domestic rival, complicating matters for Manchester United.
Manchester United-target Harry Kane chose Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo
The Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo debate is one that will likely never end. Fans and football figures have argued their cases over the legendary duo. They have broken record after record, and their goalscoring prowess has dominated world football.
Messi boasts a record of 709 goals in 869 club games, while Ronaldo has 712 in 961 games. Harry Kane gave his take on the debate in February last year and sided with PSG attacker Messi, telling Amazon Prime Video:
“I’ll go with prime Messi."
The England captain hasn't played alongside either Messi or Ronaldo but has come up against both. He admitted in an interview in 2018 that he wanted to emulate the goalscoring records of the iconic pair (via talkSPORT):
“He (Messi) set the standard; he and Cristiano Ronaldo gone above the normal standard, when they are scoring 50 or 60 goals a season. As a striker, I want to try and match that. He’s definitely set the standard for the rest of us, and he still is."
Harry Kane has bagged 300 goals in 507 club games. He has some way to go to reach the two legends' records, though.