We won't be buying a striker unless Lukaku leaves.
Potential striker targets for the summer
- Thread starter luke511
- Start date
As it should be, I don't see many world class strikers available to us in the summer anyway, Jovic has been heavily linked to Madrid so he's off the table, Icardi is the other one but we'd need to offload Lukaku and he's pure 9 poacher style, I'm not sure if I like the idea of playing with that kind of striker although he'd probably deliver 20+ goals a season.
Given that we have 4 players who can play striker in our squad already in Lukaku,Martial,Rashford and Greenwood, I would off from signing anyone unless we say goodbye to Romelu or Anthony.
Given that we have 4 players who can play striker in our squad already in Lukaku,Martial,Rashford and Greenwood, I would off from signing anyone unless we say goodbye to Romelu or Anthony.
Problem is Ole has made it known Rashford is the main man. This has made Lukaku number 2. And he is a player that needs love and needs to play. Not come off the bench or play right wing. Id replace him but there are no decent strikers available. Chelsea, Real, Barca are all short and havnt found anyone for a few seasons. So we are stuck with Rashford and Lukaku and for me Lukaku is the main striker until Rashford can actually score 20 goals a season.
So Madrid got the one young striker everyone he seems convinced of. Anybody else who has the potential of being top class?
I mean we could always go for Piatek, It's not like Milan is a financial juggernaut or a top European side, that would require a big fee though, at least 100M I'd say
Is official that Madrid already sign Jovic?
Is official that Madrid already sign Jovic?
Mbappé Says he wants more responsibility. What more can he ask for then getting our sht show back to winning trophies. He's definitely comming!
Don't you think that Jovic could be the new Bellotti?
I remember everyone was talking about Bellotti, wingers like Leon Bailey, midfielders like Milinkovic-Savic, etc. But no one talks about them this transfer window.
I remember everyone was talking about Bellotti, wingers like Leon Bailey, midfielders like Milinkovic-Savic, etc. But no one talks about them this transfer window.
Wow Belotti, what happened to that guy? Scored 15 goals in Serie A this season.
Haller looks like a good player, from what I’ve seen. Any Bundesliga followers think he could do the business for Utd, if Lukaku goes?
I would argue even if Lukaku leaves, we have 4 or 5 bigger needs than striker anyways. Rashford is good, relatively productive and at 21, should keep improving.
At the moment, I'd rank Rashford only behind Pogba and De Gea for likely to have a strong season next year, and basically equal to Shaw and Lindelof. Tier 4 is Martial and Fred and nobody else seems realistically capable of having a good year as part of our first XI.
If Lukaku leaves, I would think we'll go for someone on a free or a loan type deal a cheaper backup like Chelsea did in buying Giroud. Llorente on a free for one season makes a lot of sense, could play him against teams sitting deep and Rashford against teams pressing up, and if Martial struggles they could play together.
That would be way too risky I think. Rashford is still not a player we can depend upon. We need someone who can atleast push him for the starting spot. If we get the Fluminese striker Pedro, that would be great.
It’s about priorities though. I think we basically need to bank on De Gea, Shaw, Pogba, Martial and Rashford for next season. Buy for centre half, right back, centre mid and right wing.
If we get a player you've probably never heard of before this week or seen play and from a continent where our track record is beyond hopeless?
No thanks. We shouldn't be taking punts in South Americans anymore. We've got to get it right. We're not in a position where we can afford to get it wrong now.
I guess it's a risk we have to take. Greenwood and Martial can play upfront if needed.
I can't see us buying any attackers this Summer, unless it's a youth option, for very little money.
I think that there'll be a lot of penny pinching and Woodward will then place the blame on someone else, as to why we couldn't get the right personnel in and why our season is a write-off.
Sorry to be so pessimistic, but while Woodward is our DoF, 4th - 6th place is what I expect from us. Once in a while, if we have a great manager, he may get us in the top 3, but when Woodie senses that we are getting too strong, he'll cut the transfer budget, to increase profits and still expect us to get a top 4 finish the following season.
I think that there'll be a lot of penny pinching and Woodward will then place the blame on someone else, as to why we couldn't get the right personnel in and why our season is a write-off.
Sorry to be so pessimistic, but while Woodward is our DoF, 4th - 6th place is what I expect from us. Once in a while, if we have a great manager, he may get us in the top 3, but when Woodie senses that we are getting too strong, he'll cut the transfer budget, to increase profits and still expect us to get a top 4 finish the following season.
If we can sell Lukaku for £50m, then we could easily buy someone better and more suited for half the price.
Mbappe would be ideal but someone like Callum Wilson or Raúl Jiménez (although I think he’s permanently signed for Wolves now) would do a better job than what we’ve got now.
Did you actually think before writing this nonsense do tell us who are these better players available for £25m.
Like who? Dwight Gayle? James Wilson? Jermain Defoe?
I don't know about that, teams ain't afraid to attack us these days even at our own home ground, plus all top teams are still able to exploit space behind defences and the argument for needing space can be made for the likes of Aubameyang as well but he seems to do just fine.
I would say vardy is better than Lukaku, his record against the top 6 is brilliant compared Lukaku who even at Everton with more space allowed struggled against the same top teams, he's more clinical than Lukaku, he makes better runs, he presses far better than Lulaku which Ole seems to want our team to do, better first touch and can dribble with the ball better, the only reason why we got stuck with Lukaku is because Mourinho was obsessed with trying to find himself a new Drogba.
It's funny but when you compare Rashford to Richarlison it's hard to make an argument that Rashford is better than him and yet it would be seen as a big gamble to sign Richarlison to be our main striker which shows how bad a decision it is from Ole to believe rashford is good enough to be our main striker going forward under him.
Cant say I would want Lewandowski at the club because I doubt he would be moving here for the right reasons, plus he is not going to fit a system that asks the team to press intensely.
Keeping in mind Ole does want more pace and for us to press then a fluid front 3 of Warner, Vardy, Rebic would be a big upgrade and all have the type of mentality that is the opposite of what has been accused of a lot of our current team.
Keeping in mind Ole does want more pace and for us to press then a fluid front 3 of Warner, Vardy, Rebic would be a big upgrade and all have the type of mentality that is the opposite of what has been accused of a lot of our current team.
Jovic is available, Piatek is a good alternative.
If we are going to spend around 100m for an attacker, then Griezmann, Felix or Dybala would improve our attack considering that Sancho will stay. We could also buy a goalscoring midfielder like Havertz, Fernandes... or even Eriksen or Coutinho.
If we are going to spend around 100m for an attacker, then Griezmann, Felix or Dybala would improve our attack considering that Sancho will stay. We could also buy a goalscoring midfielder like Havertz, Fernandes... or even Eriksen or Coutinho.
Hows the young lad from Uruguay doing they produce some top strikers
Maxi Gomes
Maxi Gomes
Any of Griezmann, Milik or Jovic would be awesome for us.
The old dudes Cavani, Lewandowski, Benzema or Vardy are risky gambles. I've always wanted to see them line up for United though.
Dembele, Mitrovic, Piatek, Pepe, Chiesa, Felix, Joelinton, de Tomas or Werner would all be an improvement on Lukaku imo as long as the latter stays heavy & doesn't improve on his touch or hold up play.
The old dudes Cavani, Lewandowski, Benzema or Vardy are risky gambles. I've always wanted to see them line up for United though.
Dembele, Mitrovic, Piatek, Pepe, Chiesa, Felix, Joelinton, de Tomas or Werner would all be an improvement on Lukaku imo as long as the latter stays heavy & doesn't improve on his touch or hold up play.
This all depends on how well you rate a player. I, personally, do not think Lukaku is that good. Despite his size and physical abilities, he does not win many duels against physically inferior players. His technique is sub par, his positioning is not good at all and he is not the hardest worker.
For a price around £25m:
Haller (might cost more), Joelinton, Mitrovic, Duvan Zapata, Dzeko, Mandzukic...
Some of them might cost more, some of them are old, but finding better players than Lukaku and more suited to a high press and fast paced style of play should be possible for well below £50m.
Thanks for the Info but none of the players mentioned are clear upgrade may be better suited to team playing high press and transfer fees would most probably be closer to £40m for most of them.
Think it all depends on how many Ole wants to commit in attack next season.
If 1 man attack (e.g. 4-2-3-1, 4-1-4-1): Jovic, Piatek, Milik, Lewandowski, Cavani, Vardy, Mitrovic, Belotti
If 2 man attack (e.g. 4-4-2, 3-5-2): Felix, Griezmann, Werner, Joelinton, Volland, Dembele, Fekir
If 3 man attack (e.g. 3-4-3, 4-3-3): Sancho, Chiesa, Pepe, Ziyech, Belfodil, Kramaric, Thauvin, Insigne
If 1 man attack (e.g. 4-2-3-1, 4-1-4-1): Jovic, Piatek, Milik, Lewandowski, Cavani, Vardy, Mitrovic, Belotti
If 2 man attack (e.g. 4-4-2, 3-5-2): Felix, Griezmann, Werner, Joelinton, Volland, Dembele, Fekir
If 3 man attack (e.g. 3-4-3, 4-3-3): Sancho, Chiesa, Pepe, Ziyech, Belfodil, Kramaric, Thauvin, Insigne
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I think dembele will be the replacement, and I’d be very happy with the signing
Regarding the Brazilian Pedro. There are two of them both at the same club. João Pedro (17), and Pedro (21). The kid João Pedro scored 6 goals in 117 minutes. A hat-trick in his full appearance, a cup match. But also 2 in only 21 minutes of league football.
Looks like Lukaku will be leaving. Hopefully Sanchez too.
Get Jovic to remplace them
Play Rashford on the wing
Get Jovic to remplace them
Play Rashford on the wing
Martial or Rashford through the middle, sign Pepe and Lozano for the wings.
I don’t think it matters who we sign to play up front if we don’t sort the wide areas out.
I don’t think it matters who we sign to play up front if we don’t sort the wide areas out.
You overestimate Woodward’s influence mate. I agree with everything you are saying, but it’s those parasites the Glazers pulling the strings. Woodward is merely the puppet.
There seems to have been little talk about Sanchez leaving at the moment, I presume that is going to pick up after we have finally agreed a fee with Inter for Lukaku.
I can only assume that if we are offering De Ligt big wages we are confident of getting Alexis off the wage bill before the end of this window.
I think we should sign Pedro, Joao Pedro, Mousa Dembélé and Ousmane Dembélé.
Would the novelty ever wear off?
If Lukaku is sold, we need a new striker. I would love to see us go for a player like Dybala, Griezmann or Joao Felix, that take the role of a false 9 that can both contribute to our build-up play and lead our first line of defence without the ball. This would give Rashford perfect working conditions as an attacking LW that makes use of the room behind the striker. Throw in a decent RW as well, and our attack would flourish.
If we sell Lukaku and Sanchez, would you like Griezmann to lead the line? or you prefer another forward?
Not to lead the line, no - as a second striker/ off the forward. Benzema is worth a look at as an experienced player to lead the line. Get both.
Both them going would be a non-issue. We already have Martial (better as a striker than winger) and Rashford.
Personally, I would prefer a more balanced striker, operating in a similar role to how Firminho plays for Liverpool(think OGS will want to play similar to how Klopp and Liverpool plays). Among our current players, Pogba is the only one with the skillset to perform in this role. Greenwood with some muscles and experience has the skillset to play in all attacking roles and could be very well suited to this. Griezmann could do it, but doubt he is willing to come here without CL. He wants to win now.
Given the difficulty of finding these type of attacking players, we should aim for a player able to hold up defenders, win duels and able to press and create a better working environment for our inside forwards/wingers. Two options are Tammy Abraham and Sebastien Haller.
Haller is more technical and "tanky", while Abraham is harder working and more mobile. Both know how to position themselves before a cross (unlike Lukaku) and how to use their physique against centrebacks. If we could convince Chelsea to sell Abraham for £30m then we should be all over him. Seriously underrated player and he knows how to score goals. Would start neither against teams clearly better than us like Liverpool and City and the likes, as we would be better served by playing counterattacking direct football.