Erik ten Hag names player he “fought for” to sign at Man United but the club failed him

Erik ten Hag has revealed that Harry Kane was the striker he desperately wanted Manchester United to sign in 2023, admitting he pushed hard for the England captain before the club ultimately went in a different direction.

United badly needed a proven goalscorer following Ten Hag’s encouraging first season at Old Trafford.

Kane looked like the obvious solution, but he eventually left Tottenham for Bayern Munich while United spent heavily on the younger Rasmus Hojlund instead.

Ten Hag says he fought for Kane signing at Man United

Speaking in an interview with The Athletic, Ten Hag made it clear that there was one striker above everybody else on his transfer list.

Erik ten Hag reveals he wanted Harry Kane at Man United: “I said: I want only one player, and you know who”.

“I fought for it. I heard that he was very positive, but I never spoke with him about the issue. I don’t know what happened…”, told The Atheltic

Ten Hag said he was ultimately informed United would not pursue the deal and admitted he did not know exactly how the decision was reached by the club’s hierarchy.

Kane subsequently joined Bayern for around €110million and has been extraordinarily productive in Germany.

Kane decision looks even more costly now

Looking back, this feels like one of the biggest sliding-door moments of Ten Hag’s reign.

Man United chose potential over certainty by signing Hojlund, whereas Kane was already one of the Premier League’s greatest goalscorers and required virtually no adaptation.

Ten Hag needed immediate results, so it is understandable why he preferred the established option.

What makes the decision look even more significant is what Kane has done since leaving England. As per Sky Sports, the striker has now agreed in principle to extend his Bayern contract until 2029 after scoring more than 150 goals for the club.

Of course, Kane alone would not have fixed every problem at Old Trafford. United had structural issues far beyond the striker position.

But Ten Hag repeatedly struggled to get enough goals from his team. Giving him one of the world’s most reliable finishers could have dramatically changed the direction of his United spell and perhaps even how his time at the club is remembered.