Report: Premier League chairman warns fans about transfers amid link with Spurs star

Manchester United Chief Executive Ed Woodward has issued a warning that speculation about transfers for hundreds of millions of pounds are not realistic this summer because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Old Trafford outfit have been linked with a £200million bid for Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane (Daily Mail) which chairman Daniel Levy was prepared to accept after the chairman made it clear that he would allow the England captain to leave.

The Daily Mail previously reported that Kane has been considering his future in North London for a number of months and has a desire to starrt winning silverware.

Kane admitted in a recent interview with Jamie Redknapp that he would consider leaving Spurs in the future if the club fail to match his ambitions (Sky Sports).

Woodward spoke to a Manchester United Fans’ Forum held remotely via a conference call on Friday and admitted that he expects the transfer market not to operate in the normal way due of the scale of the challenges which face the entire football industry due to COVID-19.

He said as quoted by the Daily Mail: ‘I cannot help feeling that speculation around transfers of individual players for hundreds of millions of pounds this summer seems to ignore the realities that face the sport.

‘Nobody should be under any illusions about the scale of the challenge facing everyone in football and it may not be business as usual for any clubs, including ourselves, in the transfer market this summer.

‘As ever our priority is the success of team, but we need visibility of the impact across the whole industry, including timings of the transfer window, and the wider financial picture, before we can talk about a return to normality.’

He added: ‘Like all of you, we are eager to see the team return to the field as soon as we are advised it is safe to do so, hopefully to complete a season which still held so much promise for us in the Premier League, the Europa League and the FA Cup when it was suspended.

‘While it may be that games need to be played behind closed doors in the shorter term, we all recognise that football will not be fully back to normal until supporters are once again in attendance.’