Manchester United have signed a talented young striker from Serie A in each of the past two summer transfer windows, first inking the high-upside Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta and then nabbing well-rounded Bologna breakout star Joshua Zirkzee after the Rossoblu’s shock Champions League qualification.
Hojlund has flashed his world-class potential in Manchester United colors, showing the athleticism and dribbling ability that made him a menace under Gian Piero Gasperini before quickly bolting for the bright lights of the Premier League.
It’s still too early for Zirkzee, but the former Bayern Munich prospect is already making some Manchester United supporters have buyer’s remorse, with the Dutchman predictably struggling in Erik ten Hag’s lethargic attack without players to combine with or any defined role or structure.
Ruben Amorim is coming into town to fix all that for Manchester United, as the former Sporting CP manager is one of the most touted in the world. And Man United are hoping he can bring some of his highly touted young stars from Sporting with him to Old Trafford.
Although striker hasn’t been seen as a priority position because of the recent Hojlund and Zirkzee signings, there are rumors that Amorim wants to sign a third striker, whether that’s a veteran in the winter or even a younger player to replace Zirkzee next summer. Yeah, things move fast in football.
According to a report from BILD’s Christian Falk, Manchester United are competing with Bayern Munich for the world’s two best out-and-out strikers in Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko.
Gyokeres is the striker most frequently linked to Manchester United now that Amorim has arrived, though anyone thinking the Red Devils are slam dunks because of the Portuguese manager are getting a little ahead of themselves.
That said, Man United are indeed prime candidates to sign the free-scoring Swedish international, but they will face fierce competition from elite London clubs Chelsea and Arsenal, as well as potentially European heavyweights Barcelona and Bayern.
As for Sesko, Manchester United probably should have signed him instead of Zirkzee last summer, but it seems like the RB Leipzig star didn’t want to leave the Bundesliga for the Premier League just yet.
The fact that Manchester United are credibly linked with up-and-coming strikers of Sesko’s and Gyokeres’ caliber with their finishing and physical profiles shows you that they don’t believe their scoring output or box presence from their current strikers is good enough to compete with the Premier League’s best.
