Manchester United offer bonkers swap deal to sign Harry Kane: report

Manchester United target and Tottenham striker Harry Kane after scoring in the FA Cup against Portsmouth in January 2023.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Manchester United are set to offer Tottenham Hotspur a player-plus-cash deal for wantaway superstar Harry Kane.

That's according to reports that suggest that the Red Devils are prepared to get creative to get their man. Swap deals are particularly rare in Premier League football, with Manchester United's last notable transfer of such being the move that saw Alexis Sanchez sign for them, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan moving in the opposite direction to Arsenal.

Similarly to that move, Harry Kane is running his contract down at Tottenham and chairman Daniel Levy is demanding a high fee for his side's all-time scorer. Reports from the Manchester Evening News have already made the claim that Spurs are demanding a nine-figure fee in one payment for their No.10. 

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy watches Spurs' game against Norwhich City in May 2022.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is driving a hard bargain for Kane (Image credit: Getty Images)

Now, ESPN are saying that the 20-time Premier League champions may look to talk that extraordinary fee down a little by offering Dean Henderson as part of the bargain. 

Henderson is currently on loan at Nottingham Forest – but may well have burned bridges with his parent club after comments he made in August regarding United's choice to keep him as David De Gea's deputy last term. 

"It's criminal at my age, I wasted twelve months," Henderson said about staying on the bench at Old Trafford during the 2021/22 season. "I was fuming. I got COVID and when I came back I should have still been number one. But nobody followed through with what they told me."

With Tottenham reportedly keen on upgrading long-term goalkeeper and club captain Hugo Lloris this summer, Henderson could be a genuine option for Spurs to improve their squad without spending big on a new keeper. 

Dean Henderson Carabao Cup semi-final

Dean Henderson could move on from United this summer (Image credit: Getty Images)

Were United to value the keeper at around £25m, they could theoretically cut the Kane fee by a quarter – while there may be other squad players who have been on the fringes of Ten Hag's squad who may make suitable makeweights, too. 

Henderson is valued at around €22m by Transfermarkt

More Manchester United stories

Manchester United are looking to capitalise on their resurgence in the transfer market, with big new signings. Victor Osimhen is one option for €100m, Declan Rice is on the radar and Jeremie Frimpong could arrive as a new right-back. More outlandish theories include signing Kylian Mbappe and selling Marcus Rashford to Arsenal

The Glazer ownership are not guaranteed to sell up – despite bids from lifelong fan, Sir Jim Radcliffe and Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani. Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford has underlined the importance of positive mentality at Old Trafford. 

Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.