If Manchester United’s start to the season has taught us anything, it’s that Erik ten Hag’s side is desperately short on firepower.
Eleven games into the campaign in all competitions, Casemiro is their leading marksman so far with four goals to his name. Summer signing Rasmus Hojlund is second on the list with three.
United, following a successful first season under Ten Hag, much of which was built on a strong and dependable defence, came into this season with the ambition of building on last term’s foundations. They invested heavily in the squad during the summer, strengthening key positions with the signings of Andre Onana, Mason Mount and Hojlund, all of whom were snapped up for big-money fees.
Hojlund, to his credit, has made a positive start to life in England, scoring three goals in his first eight games, all of which have been plundered in the Champions League. Granted, it is hardly an earth-shattering return, but it is a respectable one, particularly in a team that has struggled for form so far this season.
But how much more could United have expected from a 20-year-old who is still finding his feet? It would have been unrealistic to think that signing Hojlund would have automatically solved their goalscoring troubles. Even Harry Kane, who was originally Ten Hag’s top target to strengthen United’s attack in the summer, would have required assistance from others.
So far this season, the likes of Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Antony, all of whom are considered as fixtures within Ten Hag’s strongest starting line-up, have failed to live up to expectations, scoring just three goals between them. Rashford has regressed, Fernandes has not had a settled position and Antony is still yet to justify his £85.5million price tag.
Such is the quality, or supposed quality, of the aforementioned trio, they should be doing more to assist Hojlund in the goals department. He cannot be expected to do it all on his own.
Ten Hag, perhaps with that in mind, wanted to sign another forward in addition to Hojlund in the summer, with the Manchester Evening News reporting in July that he wanted a player who could play anywhere across the front-three. In this modern era, it has become somewhat trendy for a forward to be multifunctional and capable of spreading his wings.
A quick glance at the current Premier League goalscoring chart shows that more and more wingers are delivering the goods in front of goal, with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Jarrod Bowen and Solly March regularly chipping in from out wide. United, by contrast, are not currently reaping the same rewards from their wide players.
United have already drawn up transfer plans for 2024, some of which could be aided by Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s pending investment in the club, and they plan to recruit a new attacker, presumably capable of playing anywhere across the front line. In the ever-changing world of football, that would be a step forward for the Reds.
For example, in recent seasons, Arsenal and Liverpool, when signing an attacker, have refused to narrow down their searches to signing a player who can operate in just one position. Arsenal, for instance, have benefitted from signing the likes of Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus, who can both play out wide or through the middle.
Trossard, snapped up from Brighton in January this year, is a winger by trade, but he has the capabilities to play centrally, either as a No.10 or as a false-nine. He is a case study for the sort of attacker United should be targeting.
Liverpool, too, have signed versatile forwards fairly recently, with both Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo equally capable out wide or through the middle. They have the required skill sets to play in both roles.
It is becoming a more common theme across the sport, particularly in the Premier League, with the number of world-class No.9s continuing to dwindle. Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, following Kane’s move to Bayern Munich, is arguably now the only world-class out-and-out striker in the division, such is the way the profile of a modern-day forward is evolving.
With that in mind, United are going to have to think carefully about who they identify as the ideal candidate to strengthen their forward line next year. They need to take a leaf out of Arsenal’s and Liverpool’s books and recruit a forward who is not restricted to playing in just one position.
