Football news - Jadon Sancho, not Harry Kane, the missing link in Manchester United attack

He did just about enough to cover his back, keep fans onside, while ensuring that the metaphorical door remains open should the right suitor come in for him in the summer.

It really was textbook stuff from Harry Kane as he opened up to Jamie Redknapp over Instagram last week. The Tottenham captain made sure he got the line in about loving the club, and how he always will, but reiterated his “long-held” belief that seeking pastures new is not beyond him should he feel he cannot be successful at Spurs.

Talk has since escalated as to where Kane would go. His nine-figure price tag rules out most in normal circumstances, but, in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, only the very richest will be able to find the cash to secure Kane’s services for next season, whenever the start of that may be.

One of those is the money-making machine that is Manchester United, who have plentiful cash reserves to be big players in the transfer market when some semblance of normality resumes. The question is: do United need Harry Kane? Or is their money better spent elsewhere?

The answer to that question may have changed in recent months. Anthony Martial, having burst onto the scene with a debut goal against Liverpool in 2015 after becoming the world’s most expensive teenager, has frustrated many around Old Trafford with his lack of consistency.

Yet, having finally seemed to have found a home as a central striker after years of playing out wide, the Frenchman has equalled his best Premier League goal return this campaign, with nine games still to play.

The goals have varied in types of finish. There have been the poacher’s strikes, fine efforts from outside the box, and excellent finishes from an array of angles. Such efforts have impressed his manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – who knows a thing or two about being a frontline striker himself – enough to convince the Norwegian that United have their next 20-goal-a-season striker since Romelu Lukaku already in their midst.

“I think Anthony can step up, get a few more and get to the 20 mark,” Solskjaer said in February. “Definitely. He’s got quality of course, he’s a very good finisher. He takes his chances really well. There’s good technique in his finishing. He’s good receiving the ball at times and dropping off. He can play almost like a false nine as well.”

Getting to such a point has been a long time in the making. Martial had looked done under Jose Mourinho, but now seems settled. The introduction of Kane could undo all that hard work to get to such a juncture.

So where to spend United’s millions? With Marcus Rashford on one side, and Martial down the middle, United have a fearsome duo. Daniel James has offered plenty of promise down the other flank of the front three, but he is not the finished article yet.

One man who is closer to being that complete wide forward, even though he is still in the embryonic phase of his career, is Jadon Sancho.

Sancho’s 14 Bundesliga goals and 16 Bundesliga assists this season have made him the most valuable player in Germany and perhaps the most valuable player anywhere under the age of 21. Ready to make that next step, a return to England beckons. He is too expensive for all but a handful of elite clubs even before you consider the wages he will command.

With their current No 7, Alexis Sanchez, looking done at Old Trafford, even if the club cannot offload the Chilean, the next superstar to wear that famous shirt seems ready and waiting. Where that leaves Kane is another matter. Whether Real Madrid will still have the cash given how badly the country has been affected by coronavirus is unclear. Who else can afford over £100m after a global pandemic?

United’s focus, though, given Martial’s progress, may in fact not be on Kane. Instead, it could be left to another England forward to be the catalyst for change at Old Trafford, and there can be no doubt that Sancho is ready to be just that.