Should go and get Dembele before he takes the Saudi money as he's a free agent
Potential striker signings (who aren't named Højlund)
- Thread starter sullydnl
- Start date
Apart from Hojlund, the three young strikers that I think are the most exciting prospects are Sesko, Ferguson and Gift Orban. Apart from the Sesko move that was agreed a year ago between two sister clubs, it doesn't look like any of them are on the move at the moment.
Many thought the Sesko deal would be gazumped, but everything is very quiet on that front.
Ferguson is very young, and has signed a contract extension with Brighton, so I expect him to stay there for a couple more years. There is something very Shearer-like about him. He comes across as quite a boring footballer that is just a very good goalscorer, almost the antithesis of an Zlatan or Le Tissier. He is also a United fan, so we need to do this one.
Orban is the wildcard I hoped we would take a punt on this window.
Many thought the Sesko deal would be gazumped, but everything is very quiet on that front.
Ferguson is very young, and has signed a contract extension with Brighton, so I expect him to stay there for a couple more years. There is something very Shearer-like about him. He comes across as quite a boring footballer that is just a very good goalscorer, almost the antithesis of an Zlatan or Le Tissier. He is also a United fan, so we need to do this one.
Orban is the wildcard I hoped we would take a punt on this window.
Evan Ferguson, I don't think he is ready yet. If we got him for a decent price with a lot of performance related add-ons I would go for it. But Brighton would ask for massive money up front and for an 18yo who hasn't even had a full season as a starting number 9 yet, it could be an absolute disaster.
I have been following him since he was at Bohs in the League of Ireland, and played a preseason game against Chelsea at 14yo, and he has undoubted potential but I am still scarred from the time all us Irish fans were waiting on the break through of 15yo Terry Dixon at Spurs. He was meant to be the next world superstar.
As for the the other two, I have seen Sesko for 90mins twice, thought he was average at best. Haven't seen Orban play 90mins so couldn't comment. I am sure he looks promising on Youtube but those highlight reels could make William Prunier look like a Maldini/Staam hybrid.
I got a question under a picture on Höjlund vs Rashford, and it was about how many goals i believed Rashford would score this upcoming season. And here is my answer. Wanted to see if there is anyone else that agrees with me on this subject? So please, up for discussion!
How many he will get this season depends if we bring in a world class striker (most likely not gonna happen) and if we will play him as pure winger or, if we don't bring in a striker, play him as the main striker for the whole season and not switch him back and forth. He needs to get used to playing through the center and improving his movement in the box when we dominate games and teams parking the bus which leads to him being fighting CBs and not depending on his pace as much as he normally does when he plays LW. He will also need to improve his aerial timing and strength, studying Ronaldos movement in the box and aerial ability would be perfect. Faster decision making, shooting on one touch passes in the box, being more selfish and shooting more. Sounds like a lot to improve but seeing how much he gained from working with Benny McCarthy last season makes me feel very comfortable that he would improve even more and even faster this season if we accept the fact that, and hopefully sooner than later, that we won't get Kane, Atalanta don't seem to lower their asking price for an yet unproven 20 years old that scored a total lof 9 goals in 30+ matches in Serie A (still demanding close to 80-90m euros is ridiculous), then we have my favorite option in Osimhen, who is even more expensive but proven and made for PL and ETH high pressing style of playing his forwards (maybe next year if Sheikh Jassim buys the club). So if we don't find the right striker this summer, don't waste money on some average player just because we are desperate - rather decide early, ideal would be right now during the tour in US to play him as the striker and let him work extra individual with Benny and get him ready to make the position his own. If we are not selling Martial or/and decide to bring back Mason Greenwood to the teams we have backup as well if needed. I believe Rashford, with a good preseason, individual training sessions with McCarthy and let him know that he is our main striker this season would take his goals scoring to a new level. 25 goals in the league and a total of 40 in all competitions should be his goal then. With our counters he should be able to add 10+ assists, meaning he would end up with 50G/A, which are crazy stats compared to just looking back to season 21/22. So either we somehow bring in Kane Osimhen or give Rashford the chance with a preseason where he plays striker and striker only. We have Antony, Sancho, Garnacho, Martial, Amad, Pellistri and at least for now also Elanga and maybe Greenwood to fill the 2 winger spots.
I have a lot more to add to my point and could express more why and how i feel about some situations even more deeply but since the original conversation was on Instagram, it makes more difficult to express yourself more since you only see the last sentence you have written so I tried to kept the answer short and without many stats, facts or to much personal opinions.
How many he will get this season depends if we bring in a world class striker (most likely not gonna happen) and if we will play him as pure winger or, if we don't bring in a striker, play him as the main striker for the whole season and not switch him back and forth. He needs to get used to playing through the center and improving his movement in the box when we dominate games and teams parking the bus which leads to him being fighting CBs and not depending on his pace as much as he normally does when he plays LW. He will also need to improve his aerial timing and strength, studying Ronaldos movement in the box and aerial ability would be perfect. Faster decision making, shooting on one touch passes in the box, being more selfish and shooting more. Sounds like a lot to improve but seeing how much he gained from working with Benny McCarthy last season makes me feel very comfortable that he would improve even more and even faster this season if we accept the fact that, and hopefully sooner than later, that we won't get Kane, Atalanta don't seem to lower their asking price for an yet unproven 20 years old that scored a total lof 9 goals in 30+ matches in Serie A (still demanding close to 80-90m euros is ridiculous), then we have my favorite option in Osimhen, who is even more expensive but proven and made for PL and ETH high pressing style of playing his forwards (maybe next year if Sheikh Jassim buys the club). So if we don't find the right striker this summer, don't waste money on some average player just because we are desperate - rather decide early, ideal would be right now during the tour in US to play him as the striker and let him work extra individual with Benny and get him ready to make the position his own. If we are not selling Martial or/and decide to bring back Mason Greenwood to the teams we have backup as well if needed. I believe Rashford, with a good preseason, individual training sessions with McCarthy and let him know that he is our main striker this season would take his goals scoring to a new level. 25 goals in the league and a total of 40 in all competitions should be his goal then. With our counters he should be able to add 10+ assists, meaning he would end up with 50G/A, which are crazy stats compared to just looking back to season 21/22. So either we somehow bring in Kane Osimhen or give Rashford the chance with a preseason where he plays striker and striker only. We have Antony, Sancho, Garnacho, Martial, Amad, Pellistri and at least for now also Elanga and maybe Greenwood to fill the 2 winger spots.
I have a lot more to add to my point and could express more why and how i feel about some situations even more deeply but since the original conversation was on Instagram, it makes more difficult to express yourself more since you only see the last sentence you have written so I tried to kept the answer short and without many stats, facts or to much personal opinions.
Wonder how much Moukoko would cost. He's still only 18 despite seeming to be around since Jesus was a child and his overall production is quite a bit higher than Hojlund's despite the age gap (albeit based on an even more limited sample than Hojlund due to injuries).
Yeah no one has been linked to him for ages
Jonathan David 4 goals yesterday in pre season.
He’s been putting in the work whoever signs him I think he’ll explode soon.
He’s been putting in the work whoever signs him I think he’ll explode soon.
I’m assuming that we'll need more than just Höjlund in any case?
Can't really rely on Martial to be fit when we need him so we can discount him. Greenwood, even if he does stay, could take months to be match ready.
Rashford could be counted as a striker, albeit it not his best position, if needed but even then that’s only two.
My other (local) team Wrexham have four senior strikers and even then fans are saying they might need one more. The likes of McNeill and Hugill can't really be counted - they wouldn’t even be regarded as good enough for one of Wrexham's four or five.
Can't really rely on Martial to be fit when we need him so we can discount him. Greenwood, even if he does stay, could take months to be match ready.
Rashford could be counted as a striker, albeit it not his best position, if needed but even then that’s only two.
My other (local) team Wrexham have four senior strikers and even then fans are saying they might need one more. The likes of McNeill and Hugill can't really be counted - they wouldn’t even be regarded as good enough for one of Wrexham's four or five.
Who could we get as a cheap option that is experienced and can provide goals too
Santiago Gimenez scored 15 goals for Dutch champions Feyenoord last season. Scored 4 goals in 18 caps for Mexico as well.
Yeah I have him in mind if we have some spare funds. He’ll probably cost around 50-60m EUR, of course if we’re interested probably close to 60-65..
he’s in the right age, has a track record and very similar profile to Hojlund - has the work rate, the pace, vertical movement, good link up play and is pretty versatile.
I don’t know - we have a scouting department for that
Yes, I’m supporting the whole team.
Ivan Toney is back from his banishment in January.
I think he is a smashing player. Makes goal scoring look easy. Always does the right thing in the box. Drags that Brentford team through games. Guaranteed 20+ goals a season.
A snip at 35m
I think he is a smashing player. Makes goal scoring look easy. Always does the right thing in the box. Drags that Brentford team through games. Guaranteed 20+ goals a season.
A snip at 35m
Might want to double that but do like him
How much could we get him for?
Feyenoord paid 5m for him a year ago.
Nah we'll be sticking with Rashford as our number 1 striker and Hojlund as backup. Don't think that's a good setup at all but I think that's what we'll do.
That's mental because he is better off the left
What experienced backup striker is out there who would be relatively cheap we can pick up
My pick is El Nesyri. Big striker, offers something different. Seville apparently need to sell players. Still 26 I believe and won't cost a huge amount.
It's not happening, so it doesn't matter.
We'll have Rasmus, Martial, and Rashford can play there if needed, the last thing we need is another Weghorst type player complicating things.
We also all know Greenwood is likely to be back at some point this season too.
People keep saying this but Martial is a crock and Rashford is better off the left
Agent Amrabat on the case
You don't spend £70 million on a young striker and then look to bring in a cheap aging striker just in case he struggles.
And for me between Martial and Rashford we have solid replacements, and then there is Mason.
I just want us to help take pressure off him with a player who is best down the middle too
I'd just let him play, anything we could get will be rubbish or/and probably trouble anyway.
Arnautovic and Depay spring to mind again.
What about Taremi? Don’t see his name around anymore.
Just don't think we are even loosely interested
I was going off transfer market, and the fact that he is banned/damaged goods.
£35m?! What have you been smoking?
He would be double that, at least
Wait, you were being serious?
I thought you were joking with all the "guarantees 20+ league goals every year" and "a snip at £35m"
Are there any strikers out there in the old-but-great category who could be used for a year or so just to help us out here and there? I'm thinking Eto'o for Chelsea back then sort of signing.
Maybe Ciro Immobile?
Yeah him or a Giroud sort of type who would be fine with the bench.
Yeah, I know people hate the stop-gap signings, but I think and older veteran striker would be really handy. If Dzeko hadn't just gone to Turkey he might have been an OK shout.
What about Vardy? Though he is a bit finished based on last season (and he was injured a fair bit)
Yeah its not enough goals is it....