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Michael Carrick applauds the Manchester United fans | Getty Images
Manchester United have been linked with dozens of players ahead of the summer transfer window - but perhaps a star striker should be their biggest priority.
Manchester United have a particularly important summer ahead of them, regardless of where they finish in the Premier League table. Get their transfer decisions right, and they could move on from a few largely disastrous seasons with a squad tailor-made for their next permanent manager, which could well be Michael Carrick. Make another string of expensive mistakes, and the Red Devils will be doomed to repeat the same vicious cycles seen during the reigns of Erik Ten Hag and Ruben Amorim.
Much of the focus will be on the way they rebuild their midfield, and in particular how they replace Casemiro in the anchor man role, while United are also keen to sign a new left-back and add some depth on the wings – but quietly, the most important decision they make may be whether or not to sign a new striker.
Why Manchester United must sign a new striker this summer to succeed
On the face of it, Manchester United’s greatest weakness this season has been their defence. They have, after all, scored more goals that any team other than Arsenal and Manchester City, while Fulham are the only other team in the top half of the table to have conceded more often. But Carrick’s attack still lacks a focal point.
Last season, the club signed Benjamin Šeško for a transfer fee which could rise past £74m, but he has struggled to establish himself as a true starting number nine. He’s looked dangerous coming off the bench since Carrick was installed as interim head coach, and his record of nine goals from 7.17xG in the league suggests a potentially lethal player.
But the Slovenian’s all-round game is limited in many areas, and he needs to develop and mature to become a number nine capable of carrying a team into the top four season after season. To compound the issue, there is a lack of alternatives behind Šeško – Bryan Mbeumo has filled in of late, but tends to look better in his natural position out on the wing.
United seem to be highly interested in signing a winger this summer, with a number of players connected with a move to Old Trafford, but perhaps the best way to strengthen their flanks is to sign a striker that they trust in order to allow Mbeumo the license to play in his best role. The same is true with Matheus Cunha, who has also been deployed through the middle on occasion.
It’s certainly true that United sorely need a defensive midfielder who can hold down the fort after the ageing Casemiro departs, and there is every case to be made for the addition of a new defender or two – but to unlock their attack, and to get everyone playing in their best position routinely, a new centre-forward could be absolutely crucial.
The £65m striker that should be on Man Utd’s radar in the coming transfer window
As it happens, Manchester United have not been linked with many out-and-out strikers in the gossip columns so far – although given the dearth of truly first-rate number nines in the global game right now, perhaps that reflects the market as much as it does the team’s own needs.
One former transfer target has started to creep back into the conversation, however: Victor Osimhen, who continues his rather curious stay in Galatasaray after failing to engineer a move to a bigger side from Napoli. In Turkey, the Nigerian has continued to score goals with ease, and continued to use his first touch and acceleration to take opposing defences to pieces – he is playing on a stage rather too small for his talents.
It’s fair to say that no truly reliable media outlets have suggested that United are targeting Osimhen this summer, but they have been keen in the past – according to BBC Sport, they only declined to sign him due to his involvement in January’s Africa Cup of Nations – and he’s started to show up in the gossip columns again, especially after former midfielder Nicky Butt gave an interview in which he pushed the idea of going back into the market for the 27-year-old.
Osimhen, who cost Galatasaray €75m (£69m) when they signed him permanently last year, has scored 19 goals in 29 games this season, including seven in the Champions League, and seems to be just as sharp as he was when he carried Napoli to the Scudetto in 2023. Whether or not United really are having any kind of conversations internally about Osimhen or not, perhaps they should.
Osimhen wouldn’t come cheap and Galatasaray are unlikely to sell their foremost star for anything less than a small fortune, which may make that specific deal too tricky – but Osimhen is the model of what United need, someone with the technique and movement to shred defences and score goals frequently, and who is in their prime years.
Šeško (and Rasmus Højlund before him) arrived too raw to really flourish as the main man up front. They needed time, patience and guidance, but were expected to be the centrepiece of the attack from day one. A player like Osimhen would help to protect Šeško and help him to gradually reach his undoubted potential, too.
We’ll see whether United’s transfer team agree soon. The current indications are that they will look to add more wingers, and to amp up the pressure on Šeško’s performances, rather than to find a centre-forward. In their defence, there are very few players anything like Osimhen on the market. That, however, only throws into sharp relief how badly they need someone cut from that kind of cloth.
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