Manchester United’s summer transfer window is set to be dominated by their need to sign a new striker.
After reluctantly allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to leave the club at the end of last year, Erik Ten Hag was forced to find a solution for the Portuguese superstar’s untimely exit.
Opting against making a knee-jerk permanent signing, the Dutchman brought in Burnley forward Wout Weghorst on loan until the end of the season.
And although being familiar with his new manager’s playing style, as well as displaying incredibly high work rate stats, things at Old Trafford haven’t quite worked out as the Netherlands international would have hoped.
Scoring just two goals in nearly 30 matches, Weghorst, 30, has largely been a disappointment, and with it becoming increasingly apparent that the 30-year-old does not have what it takes to be the Red Devils’ outright centre-forward, the end of the season will see the 20-time league winners part ways with him (MEN).
Consequently, with a new permanent striker top of Ten Hag’s summer wishlist, several names have already been linked, including Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic. According to a recent report from Calciomercato, United are ‘front row’ when it comes to the possibility of signing the Serbia international.
However, journalist Dean Jones is not convinced United will lure Vlahovic, who is valued at £75m (Transfermarkt) to Old Trafford and has instead highlighted AS Roma’s Tammy Abraham as a much more attainable target.
“So I’m not wholly convinced that this is able to happen,” Jones told GiveMeSport.
“To be honest, if I was to predict a Serie A striker to move to Old Trafford, I’d probably go with Tammy Abraham ahead of Dusan Vlahovic at this point.”
Both players have enjoyed decent campaigns with Vlahovic managing 16 direct goal contributions from 37 games and Abraham boasting the same number from 46 games.
Although the Serie A could very well be the market United use to solve their striking problems, especially with Napoli’s Victor Osimhen impressing during the team’s title-winning campaign, Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane remains the club’s top target.
‘Opting against a kneejerk permanent signing’??? What are you on? Do you live in cloud cuckoo land? He was given no money or options but to sign Weghorst on loan. United either couldn’t afford or wouldn’t release the funds for Felix let alone any other player. Their inefficient transfer negotiators over paid for Martinez, Antony and Casamiro so couldn’t afford Gakpo who went to Liverpool while they where snoozing. I know exactly who to blame in the market and it isn’t Ten Hag. It’s the same bunch who have consistently failed in negotiations since David Gill retired and they’re kept by our incompetent and greedy owners.