{"id":295629,"date":"2025-07-27T10:27:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T10:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/295629\/"},"modified":"2025-07-27T10:27:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T10:27:21","slug":"manchester-united-should-take-advantage-of-contract-situation-to-land-their-perfect-striker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/295629\/","title":{"rendered":"Manchester United should take advantage of contract situation to land their perfect striker"},"content":{"rendered":"

Man United are still searching for the final piece in their attacking jigsaw after signing Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.<\/p>\n

George is a Senior Football Writer for the Manchester Evening News, mostly covering Manchester United. He previously worked for football.london before joining the MEN team in July 2021. As well as covering United, George is a Championship-enthusiast and co-hosts The Championship Chat Podcast (@Champchatpod24), which you can find on all major podcast platforms.<\/p>\n

\"Jean-PhilippeJean-Philippe Mateta is going from strength to strength(Image: Jacques Feeney\/Offside\/Offside via Getty Images.)<\/p>\n

Following confirmation of his move to Arsenal on Saturday night, Viktor Gyokeres will no longer be linked with Manchester United.<\/p>\n

The Swede had been linked with a move to Old Trafford over the last few months amid United’s<\/a> desperate need for a striker in this summer’s transfer window.<\/p>\n

Having excelled under United head coach Ruben Amorim<\/a> at Sporting Lisbon, many believed it was inevitable he would end up reuniting with him in M16.<\/p>\n

However, United never tabled an offer for the striker. As a result, they are still looking for a proven goalscorer to complement the signings of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With just three weeks to go until the start of the new Premier League season, time is running out for United to find the goalscorer they are looking for.<\/p>\n

Although Amorim has publicly said he would be “happy” to start the season without a new striker at the tip of his attack, the feeling is probably different behind closed doors.<\/p>\n

Having spent more than \u00a3120million on Cunha<\/a> and Mbeumo, United need to raise funds via player sales to continue their recruitment drive. The aforementioned duo are statement signings and United will want a No.9 of the same mould.<\/p>\n

After missing out on Liam Delap last month, United have been chasing shadows in their striker search. They have been linked with countless names but they are still waiting to make a breakthrough.<\/p>\n

If United are to follow the same blueprint in their search for a striker that led them to Mbeumo and Cunha, they are likely to target a goalscorer with Premier League pedigree. However, Premier League<\/a> proven strikers are not cheap.<\/p>\n

\"MatheusMatheus Cunha was one of the best players in the Premier League last season.(Image: Catherine Ivill – AMA\/Getty Images.)<\/p>\n

However, in a summer in which failing to sign a striker will be costly, United might not be left with any choice but to loosen their purse strings one last time.<\/p>\n

If that proves to be the case, they should be setting their sights on Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta. He enjoyed a stellar 2024\/25 campaign, scoring 17 goals across all competitions, helping Palace win the FA Cup.<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old was one of the best strikers in the Premier League last term, scoring 14 league goals, two of which were scored against United at Old Trafford.<\/p>\n

The Frenchman has made solid progress since joining Palace from German club Mainz, initially on loan, four-and-a-half years ago, scoring 46 goals in 152 games. However, he required time to adapt, so much so it was not until the 2023\/24 campaign that he started to consistently show his class.<\/p>\n

Scoring 19 times in 2023\/24, Mateta has scored 36 goals in the last two seasons for Palace. Of those 36 goals, 30 were plundered in the Premier League, meaning he has an established record in England’s top flight.<\/p>\n

Mateta ticks plenty of boxes. He is a defender’s worst nightmare, both with the ball at his feet and in the air.<\/p>\n

\"Jean-PhilippeJean-Philippe Mateta was excellent for Crystal Palace last season.(Image: Sebastian Frej\/MB Media\/Getty Images.)<\/p>\n

After Palace triggered the 12-month option in his contract last December to extend his stay at Selhurst Park until June 2027, they have ensured they have protected his value. His deal was originally due to expire next June.<\/p>\n

Despite that, Palace may be mindful that this summer could represent their last chance to get the best possible price for their chief goal-getter.<\/p>\n

If they fail to tie him down to a new deal within the next 12 months, clubs will try and land him for a cut-price fee next summer amid the fact he will have just one year left on his contract.<\/p>\n

Palace will be accounting for plenty of factors this summer, and keeping Mateta will be a priority for them. He is their main striker and losing him would be a massive blow.<\/p>\n

But as United have demonstrated with the signings of Cunha and Mbeumo, they still have plenty of pulling power. Palace’s demotion to the Europa Conference League from the Europa League could also play into United’s hands.<\/p>\n

There is no denying Mateta will cost a hefty fee this summer, but Palace might be prepared to negotiate amid the possibility their grip on his future this time next year could be weaker.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Man United are still searching for the final piece in their attacking jigsaw after signing Bryan Mbeumo and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295630,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,423,9060,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-295629","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-manchester-united-fc","13":"tag-manchester-united-transfer-news","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114924725810385582","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}