Manchester United have signed a young striker in each of the past two summer transfer windows, bagging Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta and Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna.
But these two Serie A stars have failed to stand out in the Premier League. There is hope yet for both, and Hojlund, in particular, has shown flashes of brilliance at Old Trafford that made him one of the most prized all-around strikers in Italian football.
Although a proven, up-and-coming goal-scorer like Viktor Gyokeres, whom new manager Ruben Amorim worked closely with in Lisbon, would seem like the ideal transfer for Manchester United at striker, there’s an idea out there that they could go back to a different school of thought.
Man United want the next Weghorst
In a potential replication of the Wout Weghorst loan maneuver a couple of years ago, Manchester United are being linked to Crystal Palace 27-year-old No. 9 Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Reports from The Mirror and L’Equipe, via mufcmpb, even indicate that Manchester United have opened up talks to sign the veteran Frenchman, who first made a name for himself at Mainz before joining the Premier League.
Mateta seems like a name completely out of left field, and, like Weghorst, is a former Bundesliga standout who appears to be a few cuts below the usual standard of what Manchester United want at striker.
But since Man United are in the bottom half of the Premier League table and toiling away, is there really much that differentiates them between Crystal Palace at this juncture?
Mateta would be an underwhelming signing on paper, but he’d be cheap and currently has 12 goals to his name in the 2024/25 Premier League season. That’s a better output than his peers at Man United on a team with, theoretically, better playmakers in Bruno Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho, Diogo Dalot, and Amad Diallo.
Right now, Mateta is on pace to break a career-high for most goals scored in a single season, which was previously 14, set in the 2018/19 in Mainz during his first full season in any top five league’s first division.
Mateta’s current contract is set to expire at the end of the 2025/26 season, so Manchester United could get him on a ‘discount’ from Crystal Palace this summer with one year left on the French international’s contract.
He would likely platoon with one of the younger strikers, preferably Hojlund, rotating for sporadic appearances as a veteran backup who has some level of proven credibility as a scorer in two top-five leagues.
