“This guy will be worst than Hojlund trust me, I don’t know why we keep repeating the same mistakes all the times”: Manchester United’s legend Rio Ferdinand fumes after Manchester United agrees terms to sign a striker who Hojlund is far better than
Manchester United will be in the hunt for a new striker in the summer, but it remains to be seen who will be the chosen one, with multiple options emerging as potential targets.
It has been clear since Ruben Amorim arrived at Old Trafford that Manchester United are short in the attacking department.
The Reds have no goalscorer to lead the line and we’re too reliant on young players like Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo (when fit) to take the workload from Bruno Fernandes.
Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee are still young, but both players make scoring goals look like an impossible task for United, which won’t help the United head coach in the future.
In 30 Premier League games this season, United have scored just 37 goals while conceding 41 to register a shocking -4 goal difference.
The summer transfer window is almost here and Ineos have reportedly drawn up a six-man shortlist of strikers.
It must be a priority for United and Amorim to find a striker with experience and a track record for scoring goals.
Manchester United need to stop repeating same transfer mistake
It feels like United have gone from one extreme to another when targeting strikers.
Gone are the times when Ed Woodward or Richard Arnold would settle for ageing centre-forwards, knowing they’d sell jerseys without always guaranteeing goals. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was a success story but the less said about Radamel Falcao and Odion Ighalo the better…
Nowadays, United appear to be signing ‘projects’ they believe have the potential to become world beaters. In theory, that is a great idea as it shows long-term planning, but balance is required to get it right.
Young forwards like Hojlund and Zirkzee also need experienced figures to learn from. There’s no point signing another player who arrives only to find themselves in the same position.
This is one of the reasons why United’s reported pursuit of Liam Delap doesn’t quite add up.
United should be targeting a striker who has proven himself over multiple seasons, like Victor Osimhen, who has scored goals in a variety of leagues, including Belgium, France, Italy and Turkey.
Amorim’s side is crying out for goals and there is no denying that Osimhen knows where the back of the net is…
Rasmus Hojlund 2.0
Although United in Focus understands Victor Osimhen is United’s first-choice target ahead of Liam Delap, the Ipswich Town striker continues to get linked with a move to Old Trafford.
Nothing can be taken away from Liam Delap’s emergence as he scored his 12th Premier League goal of the season in Saturday’s defeat to Wolves as Ipswich edged closer to relegation.
Interestingly, Delap numbers draw close comparisons to Hojlund, who scored 10 goals in his first 30 games in a top-five league. The Ipswich forward has 12 goals from the 30 top-flight games.
This proves that United would be signing a player who is a work in progress, hoping to mould him into a future world-beater instead of a readymade star capable of handling the pressure.
One good season in the Premier League isn’t always enough to warrant a move to one of the biggest clubs, and everyone can now see how quickly things can turn with Evan Ferguson at West Ham after an incredible breakthrough at Brighton.
Like all transfers, a potential deal for Delap presents a big risk when there appears to be safer options on the market, albeit more expensive.
