Manchester United are in the market to bring in a new striker in the ongoing summer transfer window as Ruben Amorim looks to add more goal-scoring firepower to the roster at M16 and while we have seen the Premier League heavyweights being linked with a lot of number nine’s from around Europe, one surprise name has emerged off late, one that had been thriving in England for a while before he moved to Middle East in Ivan Toney.
There have been reports from Fichajes suggesting that the chiefs at Carrington are reluctant to meet the £78 million price tag for Toney’s former teammate Bryan Mbuemo and that means that they are looking to pivot and the report goes on to suggest that United are willing to put forward a €30 million plus €5 million deal to try and tempt Al-Ahli to sell Ivan Toney this summer window.
Any singing for Toney would be the third number nine that the Manchester Reds have brought in as many summer transfer windows after having signed Rasmus Hojlund and Jousha Zirkzee in the previous couple of off-seasons. Both of the moves have not quite worked out and now United are set to bring another striker.
Now if I am thinking about Toney at United, he would be an interesting fit under Ruben Amorim at M16.
How will Ivan Toney tactically fit under Ruben Amorim at Man United
Is Ivan Toney the right fit to solve Manchester United’s goalscoring issues under Ruben Amorim’s system?
If I am talking about the system that the Portuguese head coach has deployed at M16, he emphasizes on a high-intensity 3-4-3 where he plays with a sole striker upfront. The former Sporting Lisbon manager prefers someone who can press effectively whilst having that capacity to hold up play and link smoothly with wing-backs as well as the advancing midfielders. And Toney, at 1.85m is quite strong in the holding up the play like we have seen from his time at Brentford. The England international is also good at bringing in his teammates into play which is going to be quite important in breakdown situations.
Moreover he comes in from a well recognised pressing culture that he played under Thomas Frank at Brentford and he has replicated it in Saudi which ends up matching the Portuguese head coach’s demand for frontline pressure.
And then he is really good in his all round box skills given how he was a nightmare to the defenders in the English top tier before me moved to Al Hilal. Toney has also been showing his impressive abilities in opponents box in the AFC Champions League.
So if you put him in at the focal ponint of a 3-4-3/3-2-5, Toney gives you that presence in transitions while allowing wing-backs to excel given how good he is at spreading the play.
Strengths
Should Manchester United prioritize Toney over other potential striker targets this summer?
Toney is your immediate solution, given that Hojlund and Zirkzee have been underwhelming in the last season when it comes to scoring goals. Ivan Toney comes with proven goal-scoring instincts and physicality that is surely going to give you goals. And then he is also someone who is quite compatible with Ruben Amorim’s system, given that his pressing intensity and hold-up play are very akin to that of Gyokeres at Sporting under Amorim.
And lastly, at that £30–35m, he will be a cost-effective option that has the capacity to make a big impact at M16.
Weaknesses
At twenty-nine (29), Ivan Toney is not going to be a long-term asset for Man United, and his transfer value is surely going to go down in terms of his resale given his age.
And the Manchester Reds will also need to see his wage demands given that his Saudi earnings (~£415k/week) may disrupt that salary structure at Old Trafford, and it will need to be considerably renegotiated.
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Author Opinion
We think with Ivan Toney, he will end up being more of a pragmatic fit at Old Trafford, but he would be more of a solution to immediate attacking problems at United. The fact that the club has not qualified for any European competition makes me think that it is time to rather back a young player who is going to be Europe-ready by the time the club qualifies for it than bring in another veteran striker and have this same conversation again in twelve months’ time.