Manchester United have recently been beaten to the loan signing of Joao Felix after weeks of intense speculation regarding his next move, with Premier League rivals Chelsea securing his services until the end of the season.

A multitude of sources, including Fabrizio Romano, had touted Old Trafford as one of the likely destinations for the Portuguese international, but it was not to be, with Graham Potter's Blues the victors in the race for his signature, largely due to the willingness to pay the £9.7m loan fee.

However, the Red Devils can swiftly forget about the recently missed target by intensifying speculation concerning their interest in Tottenham Hotspur's star striker Harry Kane, who is yet again subject to rumours regarding his future in north London.

According to ESPN, United manager Erik ten Hag's January acquisition of Wout Weghorst - nearing completion - is merely a temporary fix to the chasm left in the central striking position following the acrimonious departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in November.

And Kane could be the glistening gem to catapult the club to success next summer; a wealth of Premier League experience, an incredible goal record, innate leadership, and a creative spark that few world-class centre-forwards can come close to rivalling.

Forget Felix

Last year, Kane was at the centre of attention stemming from Old Trafford for his name, according to The Athletic, while in the summer of 2021, Manchester City nearly clinched a deal for the Premier League icon with a £100m bid, which was ultimately unsuccessful despite the player's burning desire to seal the deal.

And should Ten Hag succeed in a move this year, United would finally cement the talismanic role at the club with a supreme striking option.

Kane has scored 265 goals for Spurs across 412 appearances, is England's joint-record goalscorer with 53 international strikes - alongside Wayne Rooney - and is second in the all-time Premier League goal tally with 208 strikes, behind Alan Shearer with 260.

And as per FBref, over the past year, the £62m-rated forward ranks within the top 14% of forwards in Europe's top five leagues for goals, the top 16% for assists, the top 7% for shot-creating actions and the top 5% for progressive passes - supreme statistics and an affirmation of the all-encompassing brilliance of his refined game.

Missing out on Felix will sting, but with mounting speculation over Kane's future, and United seemingly at the forefront of the rumours, it might prove to be the eventual diamond acquisition for the Theatre of Dreams.

With United on a fantastic eight-match winning streak, and Marcus Rashford enjoying a prolific purple patch in front of goal, the often turbulent waters have been calmed, and with the club still fighting across every possible front this season, there is plenty of optimism and belief that Ten Hag can finally bring silverware back to the red side of Manchester after a five-year drought.

Injecting the "monster" - as described by Heung-min Son - that is the 80-cap Kane into the fold would be a terrifying prospect for the rest of the division, and beyond. His cutting edge, ingenuity and sporting charisma are all elements that will ignite impactful change at Old Trafford, and maintain it over the coming years.