Manchester United have already announced the signing of former Wolverhampton Wanderers maverick Matheus Cunha, and seemingly are on the verge of signing Brentford talisman Bryan Mbeumo.
United very recently submitted an opening offer of a £55m package for Mbeumo which was rejected by Brentford.
Mbeumo is keen to join United after being convinced by the project and the deal is expected to eventually happen.
United will have addressed their left and right sides of their attacking force by the time Mbeumo is wrapped up, but the dilemma of the centre-forward position remains unresolved.
United are widely expected to attempt to sign a new striker this summer in response to the collective underperformance of their current two strikers: Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee.
Hojlund and Zirkzee combined for a laughable 17 goals last season, 2 less than the 19 goals United skipper Bruno Fernandes scored by himself.
Eyebrows were certainly raised in the summer 2023 transfer window when United spent an unusually high £72m on a 20 year old who had only scored 9 goals in the Serie A the season prior.
That type of fee would be expected to be reserved for signing players (especially attackers) who can bring an immediate impact.
Instead, it took Hojlund multiple months just to get his first goal in Premier League, and Hojlund’s presence in the team initiated a role change for Marcus Rashford.
Rashford, who had delivered a monumental 41 goal contributions the season prior to Hojlund’s arrival, saw his numbers tank as he became tasked mainly with operating more as a wide playmaker – this was presumably to aid Hojlund.
While Hojlund was able to end his debut season at United with 18 goal contributions, you could be forgiven for assuming that United would not make the same transfer mistake again and instead aim to sign a more experienced striker who Hojlund can deputise for.
Unfortunately it was more of the same for United as their striker signing last summer was a 23 year old Zirkzee, who did not even identify himself as a traditional striker but more of a “9.5”.
The deal was considerably cheaper than the Hojlund deal (£36m), but United’s goalscoring issue still did not improve with Zirkzee’s signing.
It should really be no surprise that a man who does not identify as a traditional striker could not even score more than 10 goals last season, and United now find themselves back in a situation where a proven goalscorer has become a necessity.
Instead of options like Harry Kane, Ivan Toney, or Dominic Solanke though, the realistic options available to United this summer are slightly more modest.
As usual in the transfer window links will constantly circulate regardless of credibility, but amongst all these links there are two names who rise above the rest with the strongest likelihoods of potentially signing for United.
Viktor Gyokeres
It is rather ironic that the player with the most goal contributions in Europe’s top 10 leagues is a genuinely realistic option for United to grab.
Throughout the season there was a quiet expectation that Viktor Gyokeres would leave Sporting CP at the end of the season.
The expectation of Gyokeres’ exit was emboldened by the revelation of the gentleman’s agreement between Sporting and Gyokeres which allowed the Swedish international to leave if a club paid the agreed release clause of around £58m.
Clubs such as United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Juventus have been linked.
However, with Chelsea and Liverpool more focused on Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike, and Arsenal seriously weighing up a move for RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko, the door appears to be left wide open for United to zoom towards Gyokeres with a proposal.
It was widely reported in recent months that Gyokeres would prefer a move to a club competing in the Champions League next season, which will not be United after their loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final a few weeks ago.
As recently as today, however, more reports have been emerging that Gyokeres would actually be keen to reunite with his former boss Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford.
Any possibility of a move for Gyokeres would have to be funded by sales, with United expecting to overhaul a large chunk of the squad.
Gyokeres has always been liked internally by United and there is no secret about Amorim’s appreaction for the big Swede who scored so many goals for him.
However, the intriguing aspect of a potential transfer for Gyokeres to United remains his reported preference for Champions League teams.
One does have to wonder whether Gyokeres joining United would have even been a consideration if the aforementioned interested clubs actually advanced with talks over a move for him, and if United is indeed Gyokeres’ final resort after essentially being ignored by other clubs.
If United were to acquire Gyokeres, a 27 year old who has scored an innumerable amount of goals, is a powerhouse, and has experience in English football playing for Coventry City in the EFL Championship, then he would fit the bill of what United were ideally hoping for two summers prior.
Jean-Philippe Mateta
Many outlets have repeatedly informed the masses of United’s interest in Jean-Philippe Mateta, Crystal Palace’s domineering target man who recently played an integral role in delivering Palace the FA Cup, their first major trophy ever.
An arguably shrewder potential pickup than Gyokeres, Mateta’s profile resembles that of an old school number 9.
Mateta is an excellent target man who is constantly used a backboard to play off of by his teammates due to his comfort in receiving the ball with his back to goal and pinning centre-backs.
Mateta also excels when attacking central and wide channels with and without the ball. He is a deceptively quick-footed dribbler and powerful ball-carrier, which often makes him a reliable source of pressure relief when Palace want to move higher up the pitch.
Mateta’s initial seasons at Palace saw a worrying lack of goals, but the last two seasons have seen Mateta accumulate 31 goals in the Premier League.
It is encouraging that everything about Mateta’s game seemed to click into place as he turned 25 years old, the age where you would usually expect players to really begin to put the pieces together.
Mateta, like Gyokeres, is at a prime age, even more of a physical monster, and a proven goalscorer in the Premier League, so he fits the bill of what United are preferably after. The price may very well be more favourable for United since Mateta’s contract expires next summer.
An important factor, however, that Mateta’s keenness may come down to is whether he is prepared to sacrifice his first taste of European football to play one game a week for United.
Evidenced by Cunha and Mbeumo, sometimes the allure of United can be too enticing to reject, and United will be hoping that they can sell their project to Mateta if they decide to move for him.