Manchester United are getting ready to test the resolve of Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur by preparing a surprise offer for their star striker Harry Kane.

According to reports in The Sun, manager Jose Mourinho wants his management to make an audacious £170m swoop for the goal machine from Tottenham.

As confirmed by an Old Trafford source:

“The club had asked about Kane’s availability a few years back. They were told by Spurs there was no chance. Jose is a big fan and is very interested.”

This news comes in the wake of reports that Spanish Champions Real Madrid are prepared to make a £177m bid for Kane next summer as they prepare to make him their next Galactico.

The England international has been in cracking form for the club and his country, scoring 11 goals in the Premier League and Champions League so far. He was rewarded with the national captaincy and Kane responded by scoring the winning goals for England in the final two matches of World Cup Qualifiers.

It is not an exaggeration to say that Spurs are banking heavily on Kane’s goal scoring exploits, with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola even brushing them off as ‘Kane team’.

This is not the first time that United are bidding for Kane’s services as Old Trafford sounded out White Hart Lane two years ago for a possible £40m deal that included Javier Hernandez as a part as well.

However, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy rejected the bid outright as he believed that Kane was worth more than Gareth Bale. That was when Bale’s transfer was the yardstick but now with Neymar’s transfer to PSG setting a new precedent, Levy could be bargaining for a world record fee.

The source added,

“Zlatan Ibrahimovic will move on next summer, more than likely, freeing up a load of cash they plan to use.

“The problem for United is the money could get to a ridiculous level. It’s going to be more than Kylian Mbappe.

It’s money they can lay their hands on but it will be interesting to see what Levy’s stance on the whole thing will be.”

Mourinho has been a long-term admirer of the England striker and wants to bring him to Old Trafford and forge a deadly partnership with Romelu Lukaku.

However, Spurs see Kane as key to their title hopes and the long-term plans of manager Mauricio Pochettino, and have already indicated that they would reject any approaches for the player.

There are plans at Tottenham to increase his weekly wages to keep him in North London and Spurs believe that it would be enough to reject any advances from United or Madrid for that matter.