Reds must be forward thinking In the transfer window
UNITED are a club with a plan, but nothing could have prepared them for Cristiano Ronaldo’s explosive exit.
In the long run, ridding themselves of the 37-year-old might very well be a blessing in disguise, but in the short term they will need to find a solution to offset his departure.
United might not have too much trouble finding a striker that can replace the three goals he scored this season, though it is certainly a lot harder to do so midway through a season when everyone in the world is aware of your desperation. Club officials have already made it clear they are further along in their rebuild than they had planned to be at this stage, having backed Erik ten Hag with a record level of spending last summer, far more than they had initially intended.
The Reds were well aware that signing an extra attacker was their priority for next year, but it was viewed as a task for the summer rather than for the midway point. Those plans will now be accelerated, and the player pool of candidates could well be limited.
In terms of finance, it shouldn’t be much of an issue. United still have cash to spend and can theoretically justify the purchase of a new striker against the estimated £16million in wages saved as a result of Ronaldo’s release.
Their desire has always been to add an elite striking option to their squad next summer, but it seems highly unlikely they would be able to do so halfway through a season.
Victor Osimhen is of interest, but Napoli have no desire to sell the top scorer in Italian football when they are top of Serie A and into the Champions League knockout stages.
It is similar to the situation with Harry Kane. He is a long-term
player of interest, but Tottenham drive a hard bargain, and they won’t want to sell their best player to a direct competitor for a top-four finish.
Talks were held with Cody Gakpo in the summer window, but signing him now would take a huge fee given his spectacular start to the season for PSV Eindhoven and at the World Cup.
It could well mean United are in the market for a short-term stop-gap in January before turning their interest to Osimhen, Kane or Gakpo next summer, and this approach probably makes the most sense.
United’s best bet for the January window could therefore be buying a player who is out-of-contract in the summer, grabbing themselves a possible bargain, and negotiating with a club who would otherwise risk losing a player for free.
Memphis Depay, Andrea Belotti, Olivier Giroud, Marcus Thuram, Youssoufa Moukoko and Moussa Dembele are just some of the players in the final year of their contracts who could be acquired for a nominal fee when the window opens.
In the end, it will all come down to what type of player Ten Hag wants in his forward line. They are losing a physical attacking focal point with Ronaldo’s exit, but have looked much better when operating with a mobile forward in the shape of Anthony Martial.