Harry Kane was interested in joining Manchester United last summer but the financial restrictions placed on clubs meant his £100m (Sh18.5bn) price tag and £400k (Sh74m)-a-week wages could not be met by the Old Trafford management.
Kane was anxious to add a medal to his successful career having won nothing in all his years at Tottenham. Joining Bayern Munich guaranteed him a winner’s medal — or so he thought.
But with Bayern losing three matches in a row it is Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Levekusen who lead the Bundesliga table by six points. Kane has briefly spoken with his agent to explore the possibility of breaking his contract and moving back to the Premier League.
Enter United with their new 25 per cent owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and there are possibilities for signing Kane, who has two chances at winning that elusive medal.
First, England could win Euro 24 and, secondly, Bayern could win the Champions League — which would see Kane achieve his ambition. Coach Thomas Tuchel will also be leaving in June as he agreed to step down after Bayern suffered a poor run of results.
Jota could be out for two months
Portugal international Diogo Jota will miss Sunday’s Carabao Cup and Liverpool are awaiting further scans to determine how serious his knee injury is.
I am told it is not cruciate ligament damage and Jota is hopeful he can play some part towards the end of the season. Reports in Portugal have suggested he could be out for two months but this is not accurate, according to my sources.
PSG want Osimhen to replace Mbappe
With Kylian Mbapppe seemingly on his way to Real Madrid despite the interest of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, the clubs have to look for alternatives.
Chelsea are targeting Victor Osimhen but have come up against Mbappe’s current club, Paris Saint-Germain, who need to replace the Frenchman as he heads for Spain. PSG have big money to invest as the Ligue 1 champions will save £170m (Sh31bn) a season once Mbappe is off the books.
They want to invest some of this in Osimhen. The Nigerian scored 26 goals in Napoli’s title-winning team and PSG are willing to meet the £113m (Sh24.5bn) fee demanded by the Italian club.
Yorke eyes up Sunderland
Former Manchester United and Villa star Dwight Yorke wants to return to club management and is eyeing up Sunderland, who are trying to win promotion back to the Premier League.
Sunderland sacked Michael Beale after just 12 games. Yorke, 52, was a great success as a player at both United and Villa. He said: “I’ve played at these clubs and it would be nice to go back to Sunderland but I wouldn’t rule out coaching in the Premier League in the future. He won the Australia Cup with ‘A’ League club Macarthur FC.
Shaw could be out for up to 10 weeks.
Manchester United fullback Luke Shaw was spotted limping after he was forced off in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Luton Town. He was a surprise starter against Luton having been taken off in the game against Aston Villa in their previous game.
I was contacted on Wednesday night and told that Shaw’s injury is serious and he could be out for up to 10 weeks. Victor Lindelof remains on duty to deputise as he did against Luton, where he put in an impressive display.
Remarkably, Erik ten Hag’s United are only three points behind Tottenham and five behind fourth-placed Aston Villa in the race for Champions League football next season.
Hojlund and that chested goal
Following his £74m (Sh13.6bn) transfer to Manchester United, Rasmus Hojlund found it difficult to adjust to the standard and speed of the Premier League.
However, he has turned the corner after intense training on a one-to-one basis under Erik ten Hag’s assistant coaches and the boss himself. The Danish international did not score in his first 14 games for United but has hit the back of the net in each of the last six.
He is celebrating two excellent goals against Luton Town over the weekend, with his second creating a lot of comments. Many said his chested goal from a deflection was luck but I can tell you it wasn’t.
Speaking after the game, Hojlund confirmed that he has spent time in training redirecting chest-high balls towards goal. He has also perfected using his shoulder.
To assist Hojlund, Marcus Rashford and Casemiro, in particular, have been sending crosses into the box during training. Ten Hag recognises that there was no experienced centre forward such as Edinson Cavani to help Hojlund.
Hodgson replaced at Palace
It was a sad ending to Roy Hodgson’s tenure as Crystal Palace coach. He saved them from relegation last season but has not been good enough this season.
Hodgson knows that survival in the Premier League is vital to clubs and their financial stability. Palace, as I revealed last week, had approached Ipswich coach Kieran McKenna to take over but were rebuffed and the South London club then turned to Oliver Glasner, who has taken over already.
Hodgson and chairman Steve Parish recognised that a change was necessary but the club have acted properly. They supported Hodgson for as long as they could and when he collapsed during training last week, not many people knew that Parish accompanied him to the hospital after the ambulance arrived.
Hodgson is now recovering at home. Glasner inherits a team on the down with star players Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze, who make a huge difference to this side, out for a while through injury.
Palace are safe at the moment but a relegation fight is looming and I do not think, Glasner, a former Eintracht Frankfurt coach, will be up to the job of taking on the Premier League — a much tougher environment than the Bundesliga.
Candidates lined up for Moyes’ West Ham job
West Ham coach David Moyes has until the end of the season to save his job. Beaten 2-0 by Nottingham Forest at the weekend and 13 points behind the top four.
Many clubs would be satisfied with sitting ninth in the table but West Ham’s directors demand more from their team. At the moment the Hammers’ board are discussing with agents which coaches would be interested in an approach.
The main candidates are Julen Lopetegui, Steve Cooper and Graham Potter. At the start of the season, Moyes discussed a new contract but that has been put on ice given the topsy-turvy results. Many of the supporters have turned on Moyes after an eight-match winless streak.