It is a bit all over the place when it comes to United and their search for that ideal centre-forward. We know it's a position that is kind of a priority in the team.
Ok, it's a high priority.
Hojlund and Zirkzee at the moment don't cut the mustard as their overall performances have been lacking. We are at a point now where we don't actually know who should start up front.
Considering their performances and lack of goals, this has led us to search for that striker that could take us to the next level.
Several names have been thrown about over the last month or so but as we've seen, no striker has actually joined the club despite desperately needing one this January.
One of those names was a man that Ruben Amorim knows all too well in Viktor Gyokeres, the man behind the mask.
That is a cold celebration 👌.
He was the player who scored about a hundred goals under Amorim (or near as much as makes no matter) and was the player that took Sporting to such great heights.
Because of his goal scoring prowess, many of the top clubs around Europe have been linked with the Swede with United high on that list because of the manager.
However, Laurie Whitwell says that "it is unlikely that a move for Viktor Gyokeres happens in the summer." He cites that the striker wants to play for a Champions League club and that also "United are reluctant to spend so much on a player turning 27 in June."
That price that is apparently 'too much to spend' is said to be around £60m.
£60m. For a striker of his quality. And 27 is your prime age. And we need an experienced out-and-out goal scorer. Who also happens to know how to play this system as he did it for Ruben Amorim.
Yeah, doesn't make sense to go for a player like that 🙄.
I understand that he wants to play CL football and the chance is still there. Should United win the Europa League, gone are Thursday nights and proper European nights return, so we could give him what he's looking for although it will be difficult.
Bryan Mbeumo is another who's been linked with a move to United. Whitwell says that the club "have been scouting Mbeumo with the most recent time being for Brentford's game against Tottenham." He also adds that the Bees will be looking for a "club-record sale" for the forward.
He is a good player who is doing really well for Thomas Frank's side and has taken up the mantle (and how) since the departure of Ivan Toney. Mbeumo has 14 goals in the league which is 5th in the table. The most a United player has is 6 for Amad. He isn't even a striker 😐.
But if I'm honest, is Mbeumo the type of player for United? His numbers are great and will improve us but I don't know about this one. What will a club-record fee look like as well?
If we can't pay £60m for Gyokeres who is more what we need, how will we be able to afford a player like Mbeumo who will probably have the Premier League tax on top of the United tax added to his price tag.
Liam Delap of Ipswich is one more player that has been linked to us and this is getting out of hand. With all due respect to him and Ipswich, if we're looking at a player like that from that team, we're seriously cooked.
The same could also be said of Jamie Vardy, who we're also apparently looking at.
I'm not even going to mention Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
What are we doing?!
No to Gyokeres, will have to pay a club-record fee for Mbeumo, two relegation-threatened strikers one of whom is young and inexperienced and the other is too old and needs a room full of Red Bull do get himself going, and the other is an injury prone Everton striker who is the same age as too old Gyokeres.
The Sporting striker is the only one out of these four that I would be happy with. He makes the most sense and ticks the most boxes and £60m? C'mon that's cheap for a forward like him these days.
We were asking the same for Garnacho who while the star boy has a higher ceiling, is not as good as Gyokeres so this decision is foolish.
If we can't get the Lisbon striker then I don't want the rest and I'd rather just stick with Hojlund and Zirkzee.
I know we need an upgrade. I know they don't have that experience required of a striker at United. I know that at the moment, they are unreliable and underperforming.
As they are young though, there is room for improvement. There is potential there with both of them. Zirkzee's dynamism as a false 9 can give us something a little different in attack. He is very technical and is quite strong, tall and has the ability to hold up the ball and link up the play.
In and around the box, he is no Ruud van Nistelrooy but he isn't terrible. The goals that he's scored this season have been very poacher like which shows some ability.
And with Hojlund, I believe he is more the type of striker we need. His traditional style is what I think Amorim prefers for his system which is why someone like Gyokeres would make sense.
I also believe that the manager wants Hojlund to be his number one striker but due to struggling form, has been in and out of the side although I do think he will start against Spurs.
The Athletic actually put out some brilliant data about Hojlund, one that suggests we already have the striker we need.
They say that "Data analysis suggests that Rasmus Hojlund could be a solution for Manchester United's striker position.
This is supported by Fbref, which provides detailed statistics, indicating his potential suitability based on performance metrics", via centredevils.
So there is a chance.
The flip side to that is that stats are one thing, the eye test is another.
I like Hojlund. I think he is and can be one hell of a striker but his overall game this season has been a serious downgrade from what he was last season, which still wasn't the finished article.
Most start to improve in their second season. He's gotten worse.
The memes about him and how he holds the ball up indicates that fans are perhaps a little tired of his hold up play which has resulted in ridiculing him.
They are pretty funny tbh.
And also correct because he does back into the defenders quite a lot.
The problem is he falls over quite a lot too and ends up losing possession to the frustration of all. That link up play that was decent last season has disappeared and even his running of the channels is no longer evident.
Rasmus was also a very good dribller and runner with the ball but this season, seems to have lost some of his confidence whilst in possession.
Something else that has been lost over the last year is his confidence in front of goal. Hojlund was very clinical last campaign and still has a good output now when given the chances.
But with just 7 goals in 31 games, it is simply unacceptable for a Man United striker. That is a goal ratio of 0.2%.
Good lord!
Where I will side with him and Zirkzee and several United strikers of the past is that the team don't create enough chances for them. This is why I'm a little confused at why we seem so hell bent on bringing in just a centre-forward.
While that is a high priority we do need a team that actually creates opportunities for that number 9. You could argue that the movement, anticipation and positioning of Hojlund and Zirkzee should be better but they do actually get into good areas but due to selfishness or failure to pick their heads up, their teammates don't release the ball and a good and easy goal scoring opportunity is gone.
We've seen the frustrations of both strikers throughout the course of the season.
So even if we had one of the current best in Gyokeres, he would be useless as well because he will suffer the same issues as all our other strikers.
Amorim even came out and said that United don't create enough chances and that his players need to be braver in possession.
If these problems remain with a new number 9 then what difference will they make?
I do agree that Hojlund and Zirkzee despite their young age and room for improvement, aren't the quality we need at the moment. A more experienced and clinical striker that will help the team with his overall gameplay is more what Amorim requires in order to be further along the lines of development with his style of play at Old Trafford.
But more than that, I think we need to worry about how we're going to create chances for them. United have been this team that lacks creativity in key areas and moments (despite having one of the most creative players in recent times in Bruno Fernandes) but due to poor decision-making, lack of quality or simple individualism, those easier goal scoring opportunities are hard to come by.
We need to sort that issue out first before we start looking for a striker.
Should we resolve them, I do believe that the two we have will come good and we may perhaps not need to find another centre-forward.
Background Image: Rasmus Hojlund | Creator: Gabriel Kuchta | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2024 Getty Images via Goal