HOLT: Man Utd line up against Kane and come face to face with their own folly

Harry Kane walked into the media amphitheatre at the Allianz Arena and took his seat on a dais. In front of him, the stage was lit in glowing red. It was the red of Bayern Munich, not the red of Manchester United.

As Kane sat and talked about tonight’s Champions League group stage tie with Erik ten Hag’s struggling side, it felt as if the England captain was the living embodiment of the lack of ambition and failures of recruitment strategy at Old Trafford.

Kane was for sale in the summer and it is thought he was open to a move to United. One of the best strikers in the Premier League, England’s greatest goalscorer, a leader, a consummate professional, was available and United did not even try to sign him. Bayern paid £100million to make him their new figurehead, the new face of a great club.

United spent £72m on Rasmus Hojlund, who may go on to be a great success but is a relatively untried centre forward. It is easy to say now, but if United had bought Kane they would not be sitting 13th in the league. If they had bought Kane, they would be thinking about challenging for the title.

Instead, Kane is at a club that feeds on consistent success the way United once did under Sir Alex Ferguson. ‘When you have won the title 11 years in a row, the expectation is that it has to be done again,’ Kane said of Bayern. ‘I don’t want to be the player who doesn’t win it for the 12th season in a row.’

Kane, 30, has moved to a club that expects to win titles and expects to challenge for the Champions League every season. United? The way they have started the season, they are already facing a battle to make the top four. When they line up against Kane wearing the shirt of another side, United will be face-to-face with their own folly.

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