Michael Owen has never been shy about giving blunt assessments, and this week the former England striker turned his attention to Harry Kane. Speaking about the England captain’s career choices, Owen argued that Kane “should’ve joined Manchester United a year or two ago,” calling it a move that “should’ve happened” when the timing was right.
Kane, 31, left Tottenham Hotspur last summer for Bayern Munich in search of trophies. The decision seemed inevitable after years of chasing silverware in North London, but Owen insists the Manchester route would have offered both personal glory and a chance to rescue United from their long-running striker troubles.
United, once spoiled with goal scorers from Eric Cantona to Wayne Rooney, have stumbled in recent years. Romelu Lukaku departed without fully convincing, Edinson Cavani was more stopgap than savior, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s second stint ended in acrimony. Even now, Rasmus Højlund, young and promising, is seen more as a project than a proven match-winner. Kane, Owen suggested, would have slotted in as the missing piece.
At Bayern, Kane has done exactly what many expected: scored relentlessly. Yet questions linger over whether Germany’s domestic dominance offers the same competitive fire as the Premier League. Owen framed it less as criticism than regret — not of Kane’s ability, but of a decision that may have denied English football one of its great partnerships between star striker and storied club.
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For United, the thought is tantalizing. A forward who guarantees 25 league goals a season might have changed the trajectory of the Erik ten Hag era. For Kane, the chance to cement his legacy at Old Trafford — not just as England’s captain but as the man who restored United’s attacking aura — may now be gone.
Still, as Owen pointed out, timing in football is everything. “They could’ve gotten him,” he said, and with that a door that might have swung wide open for both player and club now looks firmly shut.
