The centre-forward market...

Garethw

scored 25-30 goals a season as a right footed RW
Joined
Feb 7, 2005
Messages
17,007
Location
England:
feck him. He was awful last year and literally never fit/wanting to play. Most undeserved beloved player in United history
Oh I totally agree mate. I just wondered how he was doing this season. He would have been a nice option this season with our goal scoring woes, but feck him.
 

Idxomer

Full Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2014
Messages
15,310
Toney is a good player and would be an obvious upgrade to what we have. However, I find it difficult to see how much he would fit in a team with the majority of the ball. Brentford is one of the most direct teams in the league for the last two years. He's effective on the ball but loses it quite a bit and isn't a good dribbler or a carrier of the ball like Martial at his best.
 

Lost bear

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Jul 10, 2019
Messages
1,298
I think the masterstroke would be grabbing Benzema and Sesko. Sesko can be given the time he needs to develop/be our new Greenwood as an understudy, and Benzema can link back up with Rapha and Casemiro for a couple more years while still at a top level. The main key here is getting Sesko though, as the strategy only works if you purchase a top striking prospect to replace Benz when he's gone.

Other than that, it's sort of take your pick of 100m signings. Osimen, Vlahovic, maybe Felix. All are going to cost a shit load.
Yeah, that sounds like a pretty good strategy. I still hope that we can come up with a new talent, though. I don’t really know Sesko, I must admit. Do you think he is really top class, yes?
 

Rolaholic

Full Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2016
Messages
11,163
What have you seen to think that
His work in developing the likes of Tadic, Haller and Brobbey, the former wasn't even a forward when he joined Ajax.

David is a pure striker with all the attributes ETH looks for in a 9 such as good hold up play, smart off ball movement, passing into the channels/link up play, the ability to connect with the midfield well and the workrate to press effectively and consistently.

He's one of the best ball winners and pressers per 90 for a striker right now
 

croadyman

Full Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2018
Messages
34,770
His work in developing the likes of Tadic, Haller and Brobbey, the former wasn't even a forward when he joined Ajax.

David is a pure striker with all the attributes ETH looks for in a 9 such as good hold up play, smart off ball movement, passing into the channels/link up play, the ability to connect with the midfield well and the workrate to press effectively and consistently.

He's one of the best ball winners and pressers per 90 for a striker right now
Look forward to seeing him in the World Cup
 

reelworld

Full Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2001
Messages
8,765
Location
Mexico City, Mexico
Cheeky bid for Kane in the summer. One year left on his contract, playing style perfectly suited ten Hag ball. He'll be 30 when he join us, but he's not one to relied on pace, so should still be good for 3-4 years
 

NinjaZombie

Punched the air when Liverpool beat City
Joined
Dec 7, 2011
Messages
10,162
Cheeky bid for Kane in the summer. One year left on his contract, playing style perfectly suited ten Hag ball. He'll be 30 when he join us, but he's not one to relied on pace, so should still be good for 3-4 years
No more old strikers.
 

mav_9me

Full Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Messages
12,483
Benzema confirmed he's going to retire at Real Madrid, he's not going to come to England for a farewell season or 2 :lol:

There's also a few decent options that won't cost 100m like David, Thuram, Shtick, Diaby, Goncalo Ramos or Nkunku if Chelsea haven't wrapped it up yet.

Out of the 100m options, I'd prefer Vlahovic over anyone personally
I love Vlahovic. Open to correction but he has a lovely touch/ technique right. Would be a dream. A striker worth of competing against Haaland.
 

croadyman

Full Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2018
Messages
34,770
I love Vlahovic. Open to correction but he has a lovely touch/ technique right. Would be a dream. A striker worth of competing against Haaland.
Be happy with Vlahovic/Sesko/David/Schick. I will take Osimhen off the list as looks like he's going nowhere which is a shame
 

Primex

New Member
Newbie
Joined
May 6, 2022
Messages
128
Be happy with Vlahovic/Sesko/David/Schick. I will take Osimhen off the list as looks like he's going nowhere which is a shame
You're wrong bro,I think vlahovic and osimhen are in same bracket, with osimhen being more physical pressing machine,and vlahovic the more technical link-up point,as for sesko he seems to have the potential of both,and a higher ceiling than Haaland (except replicating the goalscoring).The rest you mentioned are a tier bellow them.
 

Valencia Shin Crosses

Full Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2015
Messages
6,795
Location
"Martial...He's isolated Skrtel here..."
Yeah, that sounds like a pretty good strategy. I still hope that we can come up with a new talent, though. I don’t really know Sesko, I must admit. Do you think he is really top class, yes?
He's my favorite of any young striker prospect because he has serious technical skills for someone so tall, and good pace as well. The type of prospect you could mold into an all around beast, he's sort of a unicorn if he develops properly
 

NoPace

Full Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2014
Messages
9,419
His work in developing the likes of Tadic, Haller and Brobbey, the former wasn't even a forward when he joined Ajax.

David is a pure striker with all the attributes ETH looks for in a 9 such as good hold up play, smart off ball movement, passing into the channels/link up play, the ability to connect with the midfield well and the workrate to press effectively and consistently.

He's one of the best ball winners and pressers per 90 for a striker right now
When he's on, David reminds me of Suarez but without the spectacular stuff Suarez also had (long shooting, the nutmegs). Strong, good finisher, links up really well. Easy to see him doing well under Ten Hag in terms of linking up and pressing and also being a threat to score on cutbacks and low crosses.

The big question mark is how he'd handle playing against low blocks, as he's not great in the air, but he does get into good positions and is composed and a good finisher with both feet.

Think he'd fit well with our left-wingers in Sancho and Rashford who like to play little combinations in tight spaces and don't cross to head that well. I'm less sure about him and Antony as Antony is so left-footed and plays so wide you'd like to have someone who can convert at the back post. If you assume Bruno is the one looking to get into the channel between the LCB and LB that Antony opens up by being so wide, you'd like someone better in the air to play between the strikers.
 

Lost bear

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Jul 10, 2019
Messages
1,298
He's my favorite of any young striker prospect because he has serious technical skills for someone so tall, and good pace as well. The type of prospect you could mold into an all around beast, he's sort of a unicorn if he develops properly
Yeah, ok. Thanks for that, I’ll try and get to check him out.
 

Irwin99

Full Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2018
Messages
9,381
Cheeky bid for Kane in the summer. One year left on his contract, playing style perfectly suited ten Hag ball. He'll be 30 when he join us, but he's not one to relied on pace, so should still be good for 3-4 years
I'd be cool with that if it was not a too unreasonable price.

People mentioning age seem to forget Benzema is 34 and Lewandowski is also 34 and they're still pretty good.
 

croadyman

Full Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2018
Messages
34,770
I'd be cool with that if it was not a too unreasonable price.

People mentioning age seem to forget Benzema is 34 and Lewandowski is also 34 and they're still pretty good.
Surely we would be priced out for him
 

MrSingh2002

New Member
Joined
Dec 16, 2013
Messages
4,408
Gakpo/David/Endrick/Nkunku

All probably available to us. Will we spend the money and which has the highest potential? Those are the questions.
 

Wezzaldo

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
Messages
383
Ivan Toney for me. Ticks all the boxes of what it seems EtH wants from a striker in his system.
 

Kostov

Full Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2017
Messages
9,421
Location
Skopje, Macedonia
From the young and already established group, first option has to be Vlahovic. Juventus are a selling club and the guy is an absolute monster. Jonathan David is also good talent.
 

Kingslayer18

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Oct 23, 2019
Messages
190
If we're looking for a young no 9, we should also consider Rasmus Hojlund. 19yr old Danish striker who just joined Atalanta but who is tall and powerful. Can be molded into a good target man
 

Swordsman

Full Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2009
Messages
1,320
Location
Burning Depths of Hell
I think the masterstroke would be grabbing Benzema and Sesko. Sesko can be given the time he needs to develop/be our new Greenwood as an understudy, and Benzema can link back up with Rapha and Casemiro for a couple more years while still at a top level. The main key here is getting Sesko though, as the strategy only works if you purchase a top striking prospect to replace Benz when he's gone.

Other than that, it's sort of take your pick of 100m signings. Osimen, Vlahovic, maybe Felix. All are going to cost a shit load.
i thought sesko is confirming going to RB leipzig next season. unless united buyout his contract ?
 

Chaky_Best

Supports 'a joke of a club'.
Joined
Nov 26, 2013
Messages
3,018
Location
Vegeta's Planet
Jonathan David from LOSC should be one we look at. Won t cost a lot, and will definitely be a gamble.

Dusan Vlahovic is also a top number 9, more static but terrific. Would cost more than 100.

Ivan Toney is also one to look.

Joao Felix is not the best option to play alone upfront. Would cost more than 100.

I fear we will go with Martial and Rashford upfront again until we find the good player
 

Pass and Move

Full Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2014
Messages
801
From the young and already established group, first option has to be Vlahovic. Juventus are a selling club and the guy is an absolute monster. Jonathan David is also good talent.
I don't see it with Vlahovic. While big and strong, his touch seems lacking and he often just seems to bungle his way through situations rather than actually navigating with any finesse. I get Nunez vibes off him.
 

Elcabron

New Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2022
Messages
848
Cheeky bid for Kane in the summer. One year left on his contract, playing style perfectly suited ten Hag ball. He'll be 30 when he join us, but he's not one to relied on pace, so should still be good for 3-4 years
I'd be on board with that. He is exactly what we need up front. Ronaldo is old, Kane isn't and could give us a good three years. He could have an RVP like effect. I think we would be genuine title contenders with him in the side.
 

UpWithRivers

Full Member
Joined
Dec 30, 2013
Messages
3,658
We need 2 strikers. Ronaldo is done and Martial is done because of injuries. I like David and loads of others Gakpo etc but they all are potentials. It will take them years to establish themselves if they do at all. Plus a lot of these players even Nkunku are just wingers moved to strikers. They are similar to Martial/Rashford. Dribble, speed, make runs in behind strikers. Toney is not but he is English and on the fringe of the England team and hence he will cost a lot -80 mill plus? And he's not good enough to be a main striker pushing for trophies.

I would go for Mitrovic in Jan if we release Ronaldo. Crazy? Hear me out. He is Prem experienced, international experienced, older and will be lower risk coming in mid season and expected to perform. He will not complain to be a back up for a main striker purchase in summer. And he is a completely different striker. He has the toolset we dont have and the toolset I think Ten Hag would want hence the Arnautović links. Big, strong, back to goal, keep CB's occupied, good at headers, good link up etc. Plus I think we could get him cheapish compared to others - 40-50 mill? He will add a different dimension to our attack. Rashford can play the pacy ex winger striker or Martial when he's fit. That shoud be good to take us to the end of the season and hopefully top 4

Then ideally Kane in summer. 1 year left on his contract - 100 mill? Its a stretch but he will take us up levels. Only thing I question is that he drops deep and will occupy Brunos space. If Ten Haag thinks it will work tactically then I dont see how we could do better.

Kane as main striker and Mitrovic as back up or sometimes Rashford will have everything. Yeah they are older but I think thats a good thing. They are ready to perform and will bring a sht load of experience. Likelihood of it happening is low but they would be my first choices.
 

Valencia Shin Crosses

Full Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2015
Messages
6,795
Location
"Martial...He's isolated Skrtel here..."
i thought sesko is confirming going to RB leipzig next season. unless united buyout his contract ?
Honestly I'm not quite sure how it works, because I think us and Chelsea's interest forced RB to buy him this summer "early" and then loan him back. So technically he's already a leipzig player that's on loan at Salzburg now.
 

DanClancy

Full Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2015
Messages
1,365
If Harry Kane was a few years younger then he'd be the vast majority fist choice, if Spurs fail to finish top 4 then I'd imagine he'll leave given he's in a strong position with a year left on his contract.
 

Swordsman

Full Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2009
Messages
1,320
Location
Burning Depths of Hell
probably all agree utd need a new #9 with good scoring record and not so injury prone as martial BUT the question is what type of #9 United or ETH's system want. a typical #9 like ztalan, cavani, lewandowski, haaland, nunez, etc or someone more fluid and mobile which is not a typical focal point ?

just look at city, last season they played without a focal point so they bought haaland. so far haaland has been banging goals and people are singing praises of him. if you look at the game vs liverpool, haaland was totally shutout as liverpool managed to cut the supply line to him. the is the same as nunez so far. liverpool before nunez doesn't have a typical #9, firmino is the more fluid and mobile type then a typical focal point and their front 3 of mane, salah and firmino were banging in goals like nobody business.

now if utd going to stick to 4-2-3-1 on the long term, a typical #9 like haaland type makes sense. however, if ETH intention is eventually 4-3-3 then a fluid and mobile type like martial is more suitable. this is probably the reason gakpo always come into the news as a potential new #9. he is more of the fluid and mobile type compared to the typical focal point like haaland
 

croadyman

Full Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2018
Messages
34,770
Maybe we should have a poll on whether people think we should buy what's available in January or wait for more options in the summer.
 

mav_9me

Full Member
Joined
Feb 9, 2009
Messages
12,483
From the young and already established group, first option has to be Vlahovic. Juventus are a selling club and the guy is an absolute monster. Jonathan David is also good talent.
Since when are Juventus a selling club?
 

SAF is the GOAT

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Mar 27, 2021
Messages
2,935
If we have the money for him I'll want Vlahovic, if not - Sesko

With this team Dusan can score 20-25 goals easy
 

WirralRed

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Jul 9, 2022
Messages
161
I really don’t get this Toney shout, he’s decent but no where near the level we should be targeting.