The Mail on Sunday

£200M AND KANE’S YOURS!

Angry Levy will sell to United but only for a world-record fee

- By Joe Bernstein

TOTTENHAM chairman Daniel Levy will sanction the departure of Harry Kane to Manchester United for a world-record fee of £200million because of financial worries and exasperati­on with England’s captain for going off-message during the coronaviru­s crisis.

Levy has made it clear that Spurs would agree to let Kane leave this summer.

Tottenham fear the financial repercussi­ons of the current lockdown more than any other Premier League club because they are still paying for their new £1billion stadium.

It’s significan­t that Spurs were among the first top-flight clubs to furlough non-playing staff despite the negative publicity it attracted.

They reportedly owe £637m on the stadium loan and £83m on transfer fees. And Levy is understood to have been furious at Kane’s recent comments that the Premier League season should be voided if it wasn’t completed by the end of June.

That would have huge repercussi­ons should television broadcast rights holders demand a refund from the Premier League although The Mail On Sunday understand­s that Sky will not demand that the League repay the £371m they are owed.

Kane, who has been out since January with a hamstring injury, also suggested that it

might be time to leave Spurs if they aren’t going to be winning trophies.

Former Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov, who made the move to Old Trafford in 2008, said: ‘I see a lot of similariti­es in the situation I went through and what is happening with Kane at the minute.’

Though Levy has been criticised in the past for not spending transfer money, Tottenham have splashed out more than £100m in the past 12 months on Tanguy Ndombele, Steven Bergwijn and Ryan Sessegnon.

It has left manager Joe Mourinho with a bloated squad and selling Kane is now gaining favour with the Spurs chairman as he plots the club’s post-coronaviru­s future.

The £200m asking price would beat the world record £198m that PSG paid Barcelona for Neymar in 2017.

The mooted amount would be optimistic in the current climate, though. But even if Spurs do not fetch their full asking price, Kane is sure to smash the British transfer record of £89m paid by United for Paul Pogba.

 ??  ?? TROPHY HUNTER:
Harry Kane wants to start winning titles and medals
TROPHY HUNTER: Harry Kane wants to start winning titles and medals

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