Manchester United have come a long way in a very short period of time, and coach Eric ten Hag deserves a lot of credit for changing the fate of the team.
A six—year wait for trophies has ended this season with the lifting of the League Cup, while the team is still fighting to win the two remaining cup competitions – the Europa League and the FA Cup.
But recent results in the Premier League have clearly shown that this is still largely a work in progress and the team needs to be further strengthened.
A striker is required next season
One area that is particularly weak is the attack without a productive striker in the club. Marcus Rashford, who has 26 goals, prefers to play on the left rather than forward.
Anthony Martial has missed a whopping 29 games this season, while the on-loan Woot Weghorst has scored only two goals in 16 appearances.
The club is trying to fix this before next season, constantly contacting players such as Victor Osimhen from Napoli and Tottenham Hotspur record holder Harry Kane.
Osimhen’s dream is to play in the Premier League, and the Red Devils’ interest in him is “very serious,” but Napoli will ideally hold out for an astronomical fee and hopes for a trade war between the clubs to raise his value even higher.
As for Kane, United’s main headache is related to Daniel Levy, and they are well aware of what the Tottenham chairman will do in trying to complicate the transfer.
But, as Ben Jacobs described in detail in his CaughtOffside column, a lot will depend on the takeover negotiations, and only after the new owners are identified, it will be possible to agree on a budget.
Lots of complications affecting United’s striker search
“Although Manchester United’s recruitment team can plan, and start legwork with players, they also can’t pre-spend money until they know if there is to be an ownership change.
“That’s why the Glazers ideally want the process to be completed by the end of the season. Uncertainty ahead of the summer transfer window will not benefit the business, the stock price or recruitment, whatever happens in the process.”
Due to the uncertainty surrounding the two main goals, and due to the fact that the club is negotiating a full takeover, they are leaving their options open.
That’s why they have several backup options, including Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic, Roma striker Tammy Abraham and Ajax star Mohamed Kudus.
