Manchester United were always going to need to sign a centre forward this summer.
After finishing the 2023/24 season with a -1 goal difference, they inexplicably only made one addition to their attacking ranks, with Joshua Zirkzee arriving from Bolonga.
Zirkzee’s haul of 12 goals the previous season did little to suggest he would be the solution to United’s attacking woes, and so it proved. United tallied just 44 goals in their 38 Premier League outings last term, recording a -10 goal difference.
The arrival of Matheus Cunha will certainly help, and if United can get a deal for Bryan Mbeumo over the line then they’ll be well on the way to addressing their blunt attack. But a new striker is a non-negotiable. Even a top-half finish looks a stretch with Rasmus Hojlund and Zirkzee leading the line.
The problem United have is goalscorers are hard to come by, especially when a lot of other clubs are in the market for one.
United have already lost out on Liam Delap to Chelsea, and if the gossip columns are to be believed then Viktor Gyokeres could be on his way to Arsenal.
Another big club who were on the hunt for a striker this summer were Juventus. The Serie A giants were always going to look to bring a striker in this summer, with their weak attack one of the reasons they failed to mount a serious title challenge last season. For context, Atalanta finished one place above Juventus in Serie A yet scored 20 more goals than Igor Tudor’s side.
Jonathan David’s move to Turin means Juventus have got the striker they craved, and while David’s move means there is one fewer striker on the market for United to target, it could help them in the long run.
