placeholder image
Getty Images
Manchester United need to strengthen the no.9 position and a move for a former Premier League rival makes a lot of sense.
If ever a performance summed up Manchester United’s current issues it is the woeful defeat to 10-man Everton.
A frustrated Old Trafford watched Ruben Amorim refuse to change formation despite his opposite number David Moyes signalling his intentions immediately after Idrissa Gueuye saw red for slapping former United academy graduate Michael Keane. Joshua Zirkzee deserved more from a stunning header only for Jordan Pickford to match with a save that was equally as good, but the need for a striker has never been more apparent.
Who Man United should sign instead of Troy Parrott
The injured Benjamin Sesko might yet live up to his £75m transfer fee even if he has yet to show more than his predecessor and fellow maligned striker Rasmus Hojlund. When once United had three or four strikers who would walk into every other team in the league, you would be hard pressed to find players who Sesko and Zirkzee would dislodge even from those teams at the bottom of the Premier League.
United appear to be paying attention though and have been linked with one of Europe’s hottest names in Troy Parrott after his exploits for the Republic of Ireland in the recent international break, but also his goal-scoring form since leaving Tottenham to sign for AZ Alkmaar. The last thing Amorim, or his replacement needs though, is a player who isn’t proven at the highest level over a period of time.
If the Red Devils are to find the consistency that has eluded them in the last year, they need to sign the sort of players who would start for the teams competing for the title. In Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez, there is a striker who guarantees goals and has scored them in the Premier League and La Liga, he also has a better than a goal every two games in the Champions League.
For a player who is deployed as a central no.9 or anywhere else across the front three, his numbers of 120 goals and 62 assists in 298 appearances (a lot of which were off the bench) is hugely impressive. Alvarez has also hinted that this season could be his last at Atletico Madrid and he deserves a chance to be the main man.
Is Troy Parrott being considered by United?
The speculation linking Parrott is interesting in that he is either the type of player who will score goals consistently in second tier leagues or he is about to break through and become one of Europe’s most prolific strikers. But is he a player United are really considering? Amorim needs depth but he also needs quality and players who he can rely on to score goals on a regular basis. He should be able to pick on form, not just on who is available.
According to transfer journalist Graeme Bailey via TBR, Jason Wilcox is certainly aware of the former Spurs striker’s ability: “He is a name that everyone in the Premier League is now looking at him. Is he the new Harry Kane? People are wondering. United are aware, they have seen in him domestically in Holland and internationally – but not an active target for them, I don’t believe….January, that is anyway. Come the summer, if they want another forward, he could be considered.”
Continue Reading