Strikers we could buy?

We need a Hernandez type striker who can come off the bench when the rest of the front 3 is having an off-day.

Fergie always liked to have 4 strikers for exactly that reason. Having goalscorers is vital but, when they're off-form, it can really hurt the team. Options need to be there simply to cover for that eventuality.
 
Dante said:
We need a Hernandez type striker who can come off the bench when the rest of the front 3 is having an off-day.

Fergie always liked to have 4 strikers for exactly that reason. Having goalscorers is vital but, when they're off-form, it can really hurt the team. Options need to be there simply to cover for that eventuality.
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Rashford has already been that sort of guy for us.
 
Dont need one, just need to starting playing Rashford upfront.

I would sign another wide player, in Jan however and new striker in the Summer when Rooney leaves and possibly Ibra
 
Keeps It tidy said:
Rashford has already been that sort of guy for us.
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His penalty box play isn't in that mould.

It was telling how bad the movement in the box was against Burnley. We need someone who'll make runs across defenders in the 6 yard box, just on the off chance the ball will come to him. Hernandez might not be a world class talent, but he would have scored off a ricochet or bundled the ball in off his knee. Given how often we got it into Burnley's penalty area, he would have found it impossible not to score.
 
CM10 said:
I don't see Ibrahimovic going anywhere fast as long as Mourinho is the manager, he might have a reduction in minutes next year but I'm sure he'll be sticking around and Rashford can pick up that slack instead of being wasted out wide. Age really shouldn't matter if he's good enough to play in the first team, Rooney and Owen were both key players for their respective clubs at that age. As long as he has good players around him, he'll be fine.

I think both of those positions are more important to us than a striker, and a proper winger too. We still have too many multifunctional players making up our wide options which is quite surprising considering how much of a fuss Mourinho kicked up about wanting specialists in the summer.
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If we keep Ibra for a second season then prepare for more of the same, as fit as he is this is another world to what he is used to, it moves too fast for him most of the time, it's why he has been losing the ball so much, and it's not like he's some kid that can adjust, he'll be 36 near the start of next season. Rashford simply isn't anywhere near ready and Owen is an example of why playing a teenager reliant on speed from the jump like they are adult is a bad idea, he's the poster child for burned out early. I also don't get this obsession with making Martial into a striker, he's a wide forward like Neymar and Reus, whose best running at defenses, not trying to link up play as a #9.

A winger is neither here nor there, we have Martial, Mkhitaryan, Lingard and Memphis who all play wide, any addition would merely be for squad depth to likely replace Memphis, our fullbacks are tasked with providing wing width. The CM to complete Pogba and Herrera is important but after that a proper top striker is vital, we can't expect to compete with the other top treams with a 36 year old and a kid as our two options.
 
Fully expect it to be Lukaku for a unfathomably large transfer fee. In many ways he's Mourinho's perfect striker now that Drogba is finished.

Harry Kane or Cavani could do the job to some extent too, then you'd be looking at lower quality versions of that strong, front man like Deeney.
 
Devil may care said:
If we keep Ibra for a second season then prepare for more of the same, as fit as he is this is another world to what he is used to, it moves too fast for him most of the time, it's why he has been losing the ball so much, and it's not like he's some kid that can adjust, he'll be 36 near the start of next season. Rashford simply isn't anywhere near ready and Owen is an example of why playing a teenager reliant on speed from the jump like they are adult is a bad idea, he's the poster child for burned out early. I also don't get this obsession with making Martial into a striker, he's a wide forward like Neymar and Reus, whose best running at defenses, not trying to link up play as a #9.

A winger is neither here nor there, we have Martial, Mkhitaryan, Lingard and Memphis who all play wide, any addition would merely be for squad depth to likely replace Memphis, our fullbacks are tasked with providing wing width. The CM to complete Pogba and Herrera is important but after that a proper top striker is vital, we can't expect to compete with the other top treams with a 36 year old and a kid as our two options.
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The reason I said that is because I think Mourinho views Ibrahimovic as a key component of his side and the reluctance/refusal to sub him in these last few games makes his status in the side comparable to Rooney's under van Gaal. I really doubt he would cut him loose altogether at the end of the season which makes signing another striker seem almost entirely unnecessary.

I wouldn't mind seeing Martial continue in the wide forward role if he plays as he did last season. He's barely featured after the first couple of games though and Mourinho seems to have a liking for gritty wingers so I'm not sure whether Martial would be to his liking in that role. Lingard is a reasonable squad option but shouldn't a starter, feck knows what's happened to Mkhitaryan and I think Memphis has proven himself not good enough by now.

Rashford seemed to cope with the pressure of being the main striker well enough under van Gaal, when exactly is he supposed to step up if he's consistently used as a back-up or out of position? I don't think Owen was a case of burnout as much as it was injuries either. He was just really unfortunate in that regard and never seemed to get over them.

All of that aside though, I can't think of many players who meet your criteria. Perhaps Griezmann, but even then he isn't exactly a traditional centre forward either. I think we'd be probably better off waiting this one out.
 
CM10 said:
The reason I said that is because I think Mourinho views Ibrahimovic as a key component of his side and the reluctance/refusal to sub him in these last few games makes his status in the side comparable to Rooney's under van Gaal. I really doubt he would cut him loose altogether at the end of the season which makes signing another striker seem almost entirely unnecessary.
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Jose is a survivor, he wont let Ibra sink him IMO, and there is no obligation to take up the 2nd year, I am sure even Ibra is wondering if he really wants this uphill struggle after his glittering career, the fact the 2nd year is just an option gives both sides an easy parting of the ways in the summer.

I wouldn't mind seeing Martial continue in the wide forward role if he plays as he did last season. He's barely featured after the first couple of games though and Mourinho seems to have a liking for gritty wingers so I'm not sure whether Martial would be to his liking in that role. Lingard is a reasonable squad option but shouldn't a starter, feck knows what's happened to Mkhitaryan and I think Memphis has proven himself not good enough by now.
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I think we need to give Martial and Mkhitaryan time under Jose, he used the likes of Di Maria and Hazard and I think he will be using Martial for sure once he gets fully fit, the Mkhitaryan situation is a bit different so we'll have to see how the drama plays out.

Rashford seemed to cope with the pressure of being the main striker well enough under van Gaal, when exactly is he supposed to step up if he's consistently used as a back-up or out of position? I don't think Owen was a case of burnout as much as it was injuries either. He was just really unfortunate in that regard and never seemed to get over them.
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It's not the pressure as such, it's that his all round game is not developed enough and it's one thing to have a few months when the season was already dead in the water, but another to be the main man week in and week out for a side looking to compete. As far as when does Rashford step up, I don't see why we have to clear the path for him, if he's good enough he'll compete with another #9 and get the spot, he's a kid and coming off the bench for a couple of seasons wouldn't do him any harm.

All of that aside though, I can't think of many players who meet your criteria. Perhaps Griezmann, but even then he isn't exactly a traditional centre forward either. I think we'd be probably better off waiting this one out.
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Waiting it out? Like write off top 4 for a few seasons just to pander to Ibra and let Rashford have a free run at the striker spot? We could go for Aubameyang or Icardi or perhaps even Andre Silva who fits the Jose mold of a striker and could share the spot with Rashford, competition would be good for both.
 
Devil may care said:
Waiting it out? Like write off top 4 for a few seasons just to pander to Ibra and let Rashford have a free run at the striker spot? We could go for Aubameyang or Icardi or perhaps even Andre Silva who fits the Jose mold of a striker and could share the spot with Rashford, competition would be good for both.
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The patronising tone might've worked if I had actually said any of those things or if the statement about top 4 was even remotely true.

We've been guilty of buying for the sake of buying too often recently. I'd rather we stuck with what we have than once again spend blindly without considering the consequences.
 
CM10 said:
The patronising tone might've worked if I had actually said any of those things or if the statement about top 4 was even remotely true.

We've been guilty of buying for the sake of buying too often recently. I'd rather we stuck with what we have than once again spend blindly without considering the consequences.
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What patronizing tone? they were legitimate points, the only reason not to be looking towards getting a top striker in is to pander to Ibra's ego or to make sure Rashford has zero competition for his spot. I don't see how the statement regarding top 4 is outlandish, we are already 7 points off 4th spot this season, it's not going to get easier next season as all teams are strengthening and we still wont have the striker needed to get enough goals.

How would buying a striker be buying for the sake of buying? We have a striker who is too old and another who is much too young and we are way behind our rivals in scoring goals, the thing that wins games. We can't afford to stand still.
 
We're not where we are because of our strikers. Ibrahimovic's had a rough few games but the overall performance of the team in games like Watford and Stoke as well as Mourinho's negative approach in the bigger games is what has been most costly.

Other teams have finished top 4 consistently with strikers worse than ours too - look at Arsenal with Giroud.

There's nothing wrong with buying a striker per se, I just don't think the right one will be available this summer and I think you're making too much of belittling our current options.
 
CM10 said:
We're not where we are because of our strikers. Ibrahimovic's had a rough few games but the overall performance of the team in games like Watford and Stoke as well as Mourinho's negative approach in the bigger games is what has been most costly.

Other teams have finished top 4 consistently with strikers worse than ours too - look at Arsenal with Giroud.

There's nothing wrong with buying a striker per se, I just don't think the right one will be available this summer and I think you're making too much of belittling our current options.
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I disagree, we have dropped 4 crucial home points becuase we have missed sitters in both games, we destroyed Stoke and Burnley but didn't convert gilt edged chances. We approached the Liverpool game the only way we could, going toe to toe with them while our team was not in any form on their patch would have seen us get blitzed, again if Ibra scored the header Pogba put on a plate for him we'd have left Anfield with all 3 points.

Arsenal spread their goals out fairly well and the competition is getting stiffer this season, Giroud may not be great but he's a 15 goal a season guy, we don't know if we even have that.

What is the right one for you? As I can think of 3 or 4 that would be available in the summer, and I'm not belittling anything, I'm just being realistic about our options.
 
Wait until summer & activate the release clause of Carrasco (winger) and Griezmann (striker/secondary striker).
 
How can anyone in their right mind be suggesting Lukaku. He's good in patches but too inconsistent and lacks that higher level first touch to be a striker at a club aspiring for titles.
 
Raees said:
How can anyone in their right mind be suggesting Lukaku. He's good in patches but too inconsistent and lacks that higher level first touch to be a striker at a club aspiring for titles.
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Funnily enough, they said that about Drogba when he was at Marseille. I remember some journalist saying he wasn't a quality striker (like Henry) because he came through standard academies and not Clairfontaine and it showed in his touch.

He's scored 130 goals already and he's 23. The consistency will be there when he's 26-30 and despite what some daft people think, touch can be improved.
 
Good to see that football fans are living up to their fickle nature as per. Ibrah will comfortably score 20 goals by the end of the year and despite a spell of poor goal scoring form he's still a world class player that has started him utd career at a very high level. Yes we should have beaten Burnley and stoke but don't let that cloud true judgment.
 
Raees said:
How can anyone in their right mind be suggesting Lukaku. He's good in patches but too inconsistent and lacks that higher level first touch to be a striker at a club aspiring for titles.
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I agree, he's too clumsy and awkward, he's at the right level at Everton.

TrustInJanuzai said:
Good to see that football fans are living up to their fickle nature as per. Ibrah will comfortably score 20 goals by the end of the year and despite a spell of poor goal scoring form he's still a world class player that has started him utd career at a very high level. Yes we should have beaten Burnley and stoke but don't let that cloud true judgment.
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It's got nothing to do with fickleness, people are simply seeing with their eyes that Ibra is struggling with the PL, I've never seen him give the ball away so much as he's not used to being pressed relentlessly, plus he can't press or stretch a defense which is also an issue, you have to remeber people are not just talking about right now, they are thinking about the stupidity of going into next season with a 36 year old striker and a 19 year old back-up as our #9's.
 
Might as well bring Chicharito back.

Actually, our main problem is that Zlatan is very disappointing, not only for his current poor form but also because he drops deep way too much. He needs to keep pushing the opposite defensive line back in order to get closer to the goal and be ready for a cross, also and more important is to create spaces for people like Pogba and Mata.
I think Pogba's game would improve drastically if the striker in front of him managed to create gaps for him to exploit by pushing the defense line back and making more forward runs.
I think it's time Zlatan takes a needed rest and put Rashofrd in the striker position, with Martial on the left.
 
Raees said:
How can anyone in their right mind be suggesting Lukaku. He's good in patches but too inconsistent and lacks that higher level first touch to be a striker at a club aspiring for titles.
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Lukaku has improved considerably and is quickly becoming a total beast. He might not be quite ready for the big time right now, but he is not far off it.
 
Pexbo said:
Funnily enough, they said that about Drogba when he was at Marseille. I remember some journalist saying he wasn't a quality striker (like Henry) because he came through standard academies and not Clairfontaine and it showed in his touch.

He's scored 130 goals already and he's 23. The consistency will be there when he's 26-30 and despite what some daft people think, touch can be improved.
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That is totally incorrect. The criticism of Drogba was that he did not score often enough.

Drogba was bought for £24m which was £10m more than Cisse who had scored 10 more goals than Drogba that season. Their was absolutely no debate about Drogba's ability and skills.
 
Pexbo said:
Funnily enough, they said that about Drogba when he was at Marseille. I remember some journalist saying he wasn't a quality striker (like Henry) because he came through standard academies and not Clairfontaine and it showed in his touch.

He's scored 130 goals already and he's 23. The consistency will be there when he's 26-30 and despite what some daft people think, touch can be improved.
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Who said that? Clairefontaine isn't the best academy, the very good players don't even stay there for a long time, they join far better academies like Lyon or Monaco.
 
AshfordLad said:
That is totally incorrect. The criticism of Drogba was that he did not score often enough.

Drogba was bought for £24m which was £10m more than Cisse who had scored 10 more goals than Drogba that season. Their was absolutely no debate about Drogba's ability and skills.
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He was playing in Ligue 2 until he was 24.

JPRouve said:
Who said that? Clairefontaine isn't the best academy, the very good players don't even stay there for a long time, they join far better academies like Lyon or Monaco.
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I'll try and find who said it, it was when he just signed for Chelsea.
 
We don't need another striker till next summer. Ibra will be gone then.

I'd like to see us buy Cavani then. Or better yet, just bring Chicharito back. He would score us goals. Always has.
 
Jaybomb said:
We don't need another striker till next summer. Ibra will be gone then.

I'd like to see us buy Cavani then. Or better yet, just bring Chicharito back. He would score us goals. Always has.
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Just no. Cavani isn't the answer imo. He has a great work rate but has advancing years and questionable finishing. Chicharito is in the past.

I want to see Martial and Rashord as a pair. And if we bring someone else in, they'd have to offer something different. Personally I think we'd be better served with a top notch wide player. Preferably a left footed one.
 
simonhch said:
Just no. Cavani isn't the answer imo. He has a great work rate but has advancing years and questionable finishing. Chicharito is in the past.

I want to see Martial and Rashord as a pair. And if we bring someone else in, they'd have to offer something different. Personally I think we'd be better served with a top notch wide player. Preferably a left footed one.
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Cavani is different to both of those guys. Thats why I suggested him. We need a proper "number 9" after Zlatan goes... Not another inside forward type.

Neymar or Ronaldo would be a dream signing. Not gonna happen though. Too valuable to their clubs.
 
There's a serious lack of real CFs out there these days. All CAMS or inside forwards being used has strikers. Firmino, Sanchez to name two. I don't think Lukaku would be a bad shout. He's powerful, scores goals. That 1st touch can be improved. I think out of all the strikers being mentioned he might be the most attainable for us presently.
 
MattyB1986 said:
There's a serious lack of real CFs out there these days. All CAMS or inside forwards being used has strikers. Firmino, Sanchez to name two. I don't think Lukaku would be a bad shout. He's powerful, scores goals. That 1st touch can be improved. I think out of all the strikers being mentioned he might be the most attainable for us presently.
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Probably one of the toughest things to improve...first touch.
 
Vito Corleone said:
What are you all on about, we've got Memphis, Will Keane, Rooney, Ashley Young, Rashford Wilson, Januzaj and Martial who could play there next year. We don't need a new striker.

You're a fool if you thought I was being serious.
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This :lol:
 
MZX7 said:
Probably one of the toughest things to improve...first touch.
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I think technique is probably the ability people think you either have it or not, but to what extent? I'm sure one can improve his technique by consistently practicing it.
 
Icardi from Inter seems to score a lot! I don't watch a lot of Italian football but based on stats he seems to bang them in no matter how crap Inter Milan are. Surely be worth a punt considering his latest ordeal with the Inter Milan fans?:lol:
 
ronaldo.jpg


Not sure if that image posted. =/ Was meant to be stats of strikers over the years and their goals at Lukaku's age at 23. He's 5th on the list just 5 off Aguero with 119. But miles away from the Brazilian Ronaldo who scored 194 (man, he was a beast)

Why not Lukaku? 1st touch can be improved by coaching surely? practice and tweaking the technique by coaching body shape, etc. Can't deny he's a powerhouse striker and scores goals, knows the EPL and just about to reach his prime years not on the retirement plan contract.

Only negative I can see why we wouldn't is because Jose got rid of him at Chelsea.
 
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We dont need a striker Ibra, Rashford and Martial are plenty, with the two latter ones not even getting a chance in that position even though it is their preferred position. If anything, Id buy a pacy left winger and move Martial up front if Rashford is a little inexperienced yet.
 
Icardi,Lukaku,Lacazette,Aubameyang,Dybala are the only ones I would really consider right now.
 
Fan of Moussa Dembele, thought we'd sign him a couple years ago from Fulham.
 
VorZakone said:
I think technique is probably the ability people think you either have it or not, but to what extent? I'm sure one can improve his technique by consistently practicing it.
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I think first touch comes naturally. I may be wrong but I haven't personally seen anyone improve on their first touch. Can't even think of any player that I've seen who got better at it. Maybe you know some?
 
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