Manchester United are hoping to wrap up a deal for Benjamin Sesko as they look to further sharpen their attack.
Ross joined the MEN in August 2021. He was appointed Sport Content Editor in February 2022.
Amorim is in desperate need of a new striker
Not signing a striker this summer simply isn’t an option for Manchester United, but you’d have said the same last summer. And they didn’t sign a striker.
Joshua Zirkzee is not a striker, yet the club turned to the Dutchman in their search for goals. Needless to say, the gamble did not pay off.
Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund scored just seven league goals between them last season, with United finishing the Premier League campaign on a -10 goal difference.
United’s pursuit of a new No.9 this summer hasn’t exactly gone to plan, with Liam Delap snubbing them for Chelsea, Viktor Gyokeres making the move to Arsenal and Aston Villa digging their heels in over Ollie Watkins. Benjamin Sesko is the new priority target, yet with Newcastle also keen to secure his signature, bringing him to Old Trafford is not going to be easy.
Contingency plans are needed, and they will no doubt be in place, but is it really possible United could go another summer without signing an out-and-out centre forward?
United’s desire to sign a new striker is clear, but if they can’t get a deal over the line then they will be forced to make do with their existing options.
Matheus Cunha was trialled as a false nine against Everton on Sunday, and the £62.5million signing connected well in the move that led to United winning a first-half penalty. However, the former Wolves man was clearly eager to drop deep and get involved in play, leaving United without a focal point.
The experiment didn’t work and only further highlighted United’s desperate need for a centre forward.
United have been keen to avoid paying over £60m for players, but it’s a transfer rule that has been scrapped this summer as they aim to bounce back from their worst domestic campaign in 51 years.
Had the Cunha experiment worked, would they have been tempted to suggest not signing a striker wouldn’t be the end of the world given the existing options available to them? It’s impossible to say, and there’s no indication to suggest they would have done. But as good a player as Cunha is, he will never be the answer to their problems up top.
United absolutely must sign a striker this summer. And, whoever it is, they’re unlikely to cost less than £60m.
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