As ever, Manchester United anticipate a busy summer transfer window. However, while the mood at Old Trafford smacked of desperation as Ruben Amorim scrambled to make something of his tenure, things have changed since Michael Carrick's appointment.
Trying to pin down the exact priority for Jason Wilcox and the United superiors is a different question, though, and though the Red Devils need to shore up their backline - especially reinforcing the squad with a new left-back - it looks like the attacking flanks could take precedence when the market swings open.
Cunha Mbeumo
Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo's experience and expertise as direct Premier League forwards, proven and prolific in the English top flight, have paid dividends, but United could still benefit from some more width and depth.
Why signing a winger is Man Utd's priority
This is not to say that Manchester United do not need to recruit elsewhere. Casemiro's off this summer, after all, and a top midfield signing could create a base from which success could be reached.
However, there is indeed a noticeable lack of depth out wide, and Mbeumo's recent struggles have accentuated the need for such a forward.
Bryan Mbeumo - Premier League Form
Stats (* per game)
Matches (starts)
Goals
Assists
Shots (on target)*
Big chances missed
Touches*
Accurate passes*
Big chances created
Key passes*
Dribbles*
Ball recoveries*
Tackles + interceptions*
Duels won*
While they are elsewhere this season, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho are sure to be cut loose this summer, freeing up some space in the larger squad for a winger like Yan Diomande to enter the scene.
According to Sky Sports, it's emerging that Man United expect to be busy this summer, strengthening their midfield but also out wide. Diomande, who has risen to prominence in Germany with RB Leipzig, is a priority target.
Valued as highly as £100m by previous reports, the Ivory Coast international will have no shortage of suitors; Liverpool are hot on his trail following Mohamed Salah's declaration that he is leaving the Premier League.
Yan Diomande for RB Leipzig
The 19-year-old is still developing, but his performances this season have been exceptional, prolific, physical and tenacious in the final third.
How Yan Diomande would improve Man Utd
Manchester United have remained one of the most well-to-do outfits in Europe even after more than a decade of strife, but they haven't been an elite club in the strictest sporting sense, so many years without a Premier League or Champions League title.
But INEOS have plans to change that, and the early readings in 2026 are that they might have finally turned a corner.
Manchester United interim manager Michael Carrick celebrates after the match
Diomande joined RB Leipzig from Leganes last summer, but despite his youth and inexperience, he has already checked off a lot of boxes and could prove instrumental in sculpting a new future for the Old Trafford side.
This season, the teenager, who can play across the frontline but preferably on the right, has scored 11 goals and supplied eight assists across all competitions this term, with his deadly displays leading journalist Bence Bocsak to hail him as a "generational talent".
His underlying data, though, shows how he can prove an upgrade on Mbeumo, for he has created 11 big chances in the Bundesliga, averaging 3.3 dribbles and winning 5.4 duels per game. In front of goal? Clinical. He's only missed four big chances, putting ten away.
Just imagine if he transfers those skills to the Premier League. Imagine he transfers them and then builds them up, outstripping the likes of Mbeumo.
The hope would be that both could flourish together, and Diomande's pace and trickery might even allow him to raise Mbeumo's game - and vice versa.
Mbeumo has not recaptured his form with Brentford last season. It was form that attracted any number of suitors, Manchester United winning the race, signing him for an initial £65m.
Mbeumo plays in a tougher division than Diomande. We're going to go out on a limb and suggest that the Cameroonian would rake in the goals for Leipzig in the Bundesliga.
Mbeumo
That's no disrespect to Diomande, who is only really at the start of his career as an elite forward. Mbeumo might be the more polished man, but Diomande's pace and raw explosiveness as a winger could be an addition to help redefine United's frontline and allow Mbeumo to find more success as a makeshift centre-forward, should that experiment continue.
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