A new era for old empires? How a summer of rebuilding could change the Premier League

Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea all hope to close the gap on Manchester City and, as Miguel Delaney details, recruitment is key to any resurgence

Rasmus Hojlund is being brought in to solve Manchester United’s striker problem (AFP via Getty Images)

Shortly after the end of last season, transfers dominated discussion at an England squad gathering, but it wasn’t all about Declan Rice. A lot of Gareth Southgate’s players firmly believed at that point that Harry Kane was going to end up at Manchester United. Some were openly discussing it outside the camp. The feeling was it was Kane’s priority.

That talk still hasn’t gone away, even as it looks like England’s highest ever goalscorer is going to Bayern Munich, and Erik ten Hag has signed Rasmus Hojlund.

There are still those within Old Trafford who believe United would make separate funds available if it got to a situation where Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy was genuinely negotiating Kane’s sale. The difficulty of dealing with the London club was one reason United didn’t pursue their interest. If that changed, it would be one of those transformative signings, to go with the steadier changes Ten Hag has been making.