Pochettino could have his own Harry Kane at Manchester United, avoid £160m gamble

Manchester United’s players are reported to prefer to hire Mauricio Pochettino as manager, The Telegraph report.

It is a risky proposition to listen to the players and United have to be wary of doing so. Pochettino however has plenty of experience in English football and he looks set to win a Ligue 1 title with PSG this summer.

So if the Argentine is hired, United fans will get behind him, even if he is viewed as the less exciting of the two between himself and Erik Ten Hag.

Pochettino will pick up a disjointed team, not the title-ready side United hoped Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s ‘rebuild’ would have left for the 2022/23 season.

One area Pochettino will be keen to fix is the striker role. Edinson Cavani is leaving, and Cristiano Ronaldo is 37 and struggling for form. United need a new goalscorer.

Don’t bet it all on Kane

The big temptation for Pochettino will be to raid his former club Tottenham for Harry Kane. This would not go down well with his former employers, but it may tempt the player.

Kane was clearly unsettled at Tottenham last year, trying to engineer a move to Manchester City, The Sun reported. Tottenham’s asking price of £160 million was too much even for them.

For United to blow the budget on Kane this summer would be huge risk. While we can’t categorically say it would be a mistake, because he is a great goalscorer, the probability is that the England striker signing for United would not change the team’s fortunes.

United have big holes to address in midfield. Spending the whole budget on Kane would be an error, or even attempting to, and wasting weeks negotiating would be damaging.

Kane’s form this season has been uninspiring, with just five goals in 20 appearances in the Premier League. At the age of 28 he should be peaking, but the striker’s best years may already be behind him. He has certainly not lived up to the £160 million Tottenham reportedly considered him to be worth.

Perhaps the biggest argument against Kane, is that this is the move Ed Woodward would have made. ESPN reported Kane was the former chief executive’s dream signing

A far more sensible solution for Manchester United and Pochettino would be to try and repeat the success which turned Harry Kane into a top star in the first place, developing youth talent.

United may have the ideal candidate, with Charlie McNeill. The former Manchester City trainee has scored 35 goals for the Red Devils since clinching his move in September 2020.

McNeill, 18, has been starring as part of United’s FA Youth Cup run to the quarter-finals, and has also been featuring for United’s under-23 side.

The youngster’s all-round game has been developing well too, and the teenager is at a similar stage of his burgeoning career as Harry Kane was when Pochettino took over. If anything he has more time on his side, as he has not yet been out on loan.

McNeill may not be able to emulate Kane’s success. It’s a tall order. United will need another striker in the mean-time. Yet it makes far more sense to concentrate on the promising teenager, given Pochettino’s track record, than blow the entire budget chasing Kane. Hopefully United will be smart enough to avoid that error, if the Argentine is hired.

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