Manchester United are expected to spend big on reinforcements this summer.placeholder image
Manchester United are expected to spend big on reinforcements this summer. | AFP via Getty Images
Man Utd have been linked with numerous strikers, however, they could have stolen the perfect option from Premier League rivals.
The modern transfer market has seen clubs have to be more creative than ever before and Manchester United have a difficult balancing act to get rid of the players they don’t want to sign the players that they do.
In Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Jadon Sancho, he has a highly paid forward line that’s future lies elsewhere but who, on their day, is more than good enough to be United’s first choice front three – the reality is entirely different though.
The three players aren’t being priced out of moves away from Manchester, however, United’s history of paying high wages appears to be the sticking point for them moving to pastures new with Sancho nearing a move and the only one who seems keen to make a fresh start and sacrifice a pound or two.
Who could Man Utd replace Jadon Sancho with?
One way that Sancho could have been removed from the wage bill was by picking up the phone to VFB Stuttgart and asking them if they would have entertained a swap with a player dubbed the “two-metre Messi”. Alternatively, money from his sale could have been put towards signing a player on the rise and hitting the headlines this summer.
United would have to add a few pounds to the deal to sweeten it, however, Nick Woltemade is exactly the type of player that Amorim should have been targeting for his high-octane philosophy.
Currently the top goalscorer in the European Under-21 Championships, the 6ft 6inch tall forward is capable of playing off the left, behind a striker or through the middle on his own and has three goals and two assists in three appearances in the tournament.
Not only does he know where the goal is, as 17 goals in 33 games for Stuttgart showed last season, but his work rate is hugely impressive. His height is something of a smokescreen too with Woltemade’s best quality, arguably, being his dribbling ability, hence the nickname.
How did Woltemade get his “two metre Messi” nickname?
Chelsea and Liverpool have both been credited with an interest and, if United want to catch and ultimately pass these teams, they should be targeting the same players.
In an interview with German media outlet Ran , Stuttgart skipper Atakan Karazor said: “To be honest, I would say that I recognize a good footballer relatively quickly. With Nick I had that right in the first week of training.
“He is a player who is two meters tall. He has a technique like Messi... (laughs) He's just a great guy! It was clear to me relatively quickly that he could play a good season with us. That's what he's doing right now.
“We have to protect a player like that well. He feels comfortable in the team. The important thing for us as a team is to put Nick in the limelight again and again - whether it's in the space in between or in the front of the box.
“But Nick also manages to put himself in the limelight again and again. We know what we have in him: We have a two-metre Messi Musiala (laughs)! “
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