Manchester United reportedly want Harry Kane regardless of who is manager, with Darwin Nunez alternative

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Manchester United’s rebuild next season is widely acknowledged to require a new striker. Edinson Cavani will leave as a free agent and Cristiano Ronaldo will turn 38 midway through 2022/23.

The Athletic report Harry Kane is United’s number one target, no matter who the next manager is.

Kane has only two years left on his Tottenham contract this summer and it is suggested this could be their final year to command a big fee.

United would be looking at a fee of around £100 million for Kane, who won the Golden Boot with England at the 2018 World Cup and will be looking to repeat the feat at Qatar 2022.

Kane equalled Sir Bobby Charlton’s England goalscoring tally at the weekend and is on course to better Wayne Rooney’s numbers for his country.

Kane not the only option

The Athletic also report Benfica’s Darwin Nunez is a viable alternative. Portuguese newspaper A Bola reported last month that United had sent scouts to watch him in action.

Nunez is an international teammate of Edinson Cavani and would come with a ringing endorsement from his fellow Uruguayan.

This season Nunez has scored 20 goals in 22 league games plus four in the Champions League, including the goal which knocked Erik Ten Hag’s Ajax out.

The case for Nunez is that he is 22, while Kane turns 29 in July. This season Kane has scored 22 goals in all competitions, 12 in the Premier League.

Kane has managed to stay injury-free this season, shaking off the ankle troubles which had blighted him in previous campaigns.

Nunez would not cost as much as Kane, but he could still require a high transfer fee, with The Mirror claiming he would cost £67 million.

Let the manager choose

It’s all very well having a list of striker targets, but the club have to actually back the next manager, and not ‘go over his head’ and sign a player if he prefers another.

Of course, if Mauricio Pochettino is named as United manager, then Harry Kane is a shoe-in to be the top target after their time together at Tottenham.

Kane was reportedly the one player Ed Woodward regretted not signing for Manchester United, according to ESPN. Now with him gone, it could be seen as a little concerning that United are still pursuing his dream target, no matter Kane’s credentials.