Who Should Manchester United’s Next Centre Forward Be?

As news circulated yesterday evening about Liverpool hijacking Manchester United’s pursuit of PSV Eindhoven star Cody Gakpo. fans began to question who the Red Devils should be pursuing in the near future.

Although they returned to winning ways in the PremierPINC
League and looked adept in their forward options, it only takes one injury to Anthony Martial – which appears regular this season – for Erik Ten Hag’s side to be severely weakened.

Outside of Martial, Man United only possess Marcus Rashford as a fill-in centre forward that would be of the standard to slot in straight away. With Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract being terminated, the club has been left short of numbers in the centre forward position and are actively looking for reinforcement.

Ten Hag’s number one option was PSV’s Gakpo, who enjoyed a stellar World Cup with three goals in five appearances in his first major tournament with the Netherlands. It is reported that, behind closed doors, certain Man United officials were not overly keen on bringing in another left-sided player, even if Ten Hag would have used him through the middle.

Instead, Manchester United want a ready-made centre forward that can slot into the team at the first time of asking. With the club up for sale and expected to be sold to new owners by the end of April, the Glazers are unlikely to sanction any sizeable transfer before they take their leave.

With that being said, there are a number of options being looked at for the summer months. It is a risk playing the long-game with how competitive the Premier League is this season and the number of teams vying for Champions League places.

Among the short-term, winter market options is Atlético Madrid’s Joao Felix. A player that has been talked about by Europe’s elite for a number of years and made a £115 million transfer from SL Benfica to the Spanish capital in 2019.

It has been made very public that the Portugal international and manager Diego Simeone have fallen out, which has put the Premier League’s top guns on high alert. Inside sources believe that a loan deal can be made until the end of the season that includes a loan fee of £5 million and his full wages being paid.

Manchester United are no doubt interested in Felix, but it will come down to the financial resources they are able to put behind this. Without the lure of guaranteed Champions League football, it might also be a hard sell to the player.

Another potential player that could be available as early as January is Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic. Signed 12 months ago from ACF Fiorentina, Vlahovic’s new life in Turin has not gone to plan. With the Bianconeri struggling both on and off the pitch, it is to be believed that Juventus would cash in providing they can retrieve their money that they initially put into the deal – believed to be around £60 million.

Vlahovic, at 22, has an incredibly bright future ahead of him no matter the club he is at. With the physical profile that he possesses, he would be expected to excel in the Premier League and emulate the successes of Erling Haaland – albeit not at the same level.

The other centre forward that Manchester United have been closely monitoring is Benfica’s Goncalo Ramos, who enjoyed an incredible World Cup by displacing Ronaldo in the starting line-up and scoring a hat-trick on his first full start for his country.

After such an impressive tournament Benfica will be demanding big money, coupled up with his contract running until 2026 with the Portuguese giants.

Ten Hag will consistently be pushing for a number nine to come in and provide competition to Martial and numbers in the squad, but will not settle at the cheapest option; he has been a stickler for getting the right player in for the right reasons.