The centre-forward market...

[Tiber]

We should probably have a separate thread for the dregs of the striker market, Watford castoffs etc

 

[MrSingh2002]

After the enormous outlay in the summer, it’s really not a great argument to be bringing up the owners this time.

Far better to say the club being up for sale might limit funds to spend until the ownership is decided.

Didn't stop Liverpool spending despite being in the same position.

 

[Erik the Red]

Out of all the players in the Premier League, Martial has the second best goals to minutes ratio for any player who has scored 3+ goals. Unfortunately, he has only scored 5 in total, and Haaland is the player ahead of him. The biggest problem is the amount of minutes he has missed, and I actually think stylistically, Moukoko may be his perfect understudy.

 

[NoPace]

I guess depends how the deal is structured. A short term deal for Depay vs a 80m deal for Felix is of cos lower risk and preferable. I don't really care how much we spend to be honest, the only reason I'm worried is that what we spend now might impact what we can spend later. Unless somehow Felix or Depay is ETH's first choice.

I'm not anti-Memphis, but if he is Ten Hag's first choice, we'll know because it will happen the second the window opens, as we won't quibble over Barca wanting 15M when we want to pay 10M or whatever.

 

[Marcus]

We don't need to panic buy at the moment. Our attack has already improved by not having to accommodate Ronaldo. Need to invest in a genuinely good striker. I guess Felix on loan to tide over to the end of the season is ok.

 

[NoPace]

Out of all the players in the Premier League, Martial has the second best goals to minutes ratio for any player who has scored 3+ goals. Unfortunately, he has only scored 5 in total, and Haaland is the player ahead of him. The biggest problem is the amount of minutes he has missed, and I actually think stylistically, Moukoko may be his perfect understudy.

Martial's biggest problem is that he has no appetite to get into the box and score goals. He's like the anti-Chicharito. Perfect example today when Antony played a little cross and Martial was just hanging out at the top of the box, only open to the possibility of the ball being rolled to him back to goal.

He's doing well under Ten Hag, but if we want to win the league and the CL in the next few years, and that's how we have to be thinking now that we have a manager who is at minimum very good (probably a top 10 but not top 5 since he hasn't won any big trophies, but you can see how he could be top 5 at his peak) , he's gotta be our backup #9. If we hadn't gotten a set piece goal today, the game doesn't open up and he doesn't get goal #2 (which Hennesse should have saved).

We need someone like post-Cristiano Rooney, Suarez, Lewandowksi, Benzema, which is to say someone who could score 25 league goals AND do the stuff Ten Hag wants. City, Arsenal and whichever of Liverpool or Chelsea get it together next year should be 80+ point teams.

It's a lot to ask, but it's not all but impossible, like finding a Messi or Cristiano.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

In other words our owners don’t want to spend any hard -looted cash…

What club is going to give away a center forward in January? That is like asking Fulham for mitrovic. He’s the difference between them staying up and no amount of money can persuade them to sell in this window, let alone strike a loan deal.

 

[Strelok]

Imo we'll go for a cheap tall, strong target striker this Jan. We have many fast forwards atm but none is a target striker or could provide a good aerial threat. Rashford would do a fine job as a fast #9 if Martial is injured. And we have Sancho, Garnacho as LW too. To balance the playing time between our forwards and provide a different kind of threat ETH will be looking for a tall, strong striker imo.

 

[dazjoe]

Best option might be someone available on a free in the summer, so their club might accept a much reduced amount in Jan to at least get something in the door.
Forwards with contracts expiring are:

Messi
Benzema
Thuram
Moukoko
Firminio
Depay
Dembele

Of those, Messi, Benzema and Firmino are obvious no go's. Moukoko is just a kid, though very highly rated, and Dortmund unlikely to sell in Jan regardless. Dembele was on the radar once upon a time but Martial-esque for blowing hot and cold (2019-20 scored 24 in 46, 2020-21 scored 1 in 23, 2021-22 scored 22 in 36 and this season has 2 in 12), he certainly wouldn't be my first choice.
I would say Thuram or Depay would be the 2 stand outs. I don't want Depay, don't rate him, but I could see the deal happening (due to both the dutch connection and the fact he'd be free), but Thuram has also been linked and for just 10M in Jan.

 

[bringbackbebe]

Imo we'll go for a cheap tall, strong target striker this Jan. We have many fast forwards atm but none is a target striker or could provide a good aerial threat. Rashford would do a fine job as a fast #9 if Martial is injured. And we have Sancho, Garnacho as LW too. To balance the playing time between our forwards and provide a different kind of threat ETH will be looking for a tall, strong striker imo.

It'll be a contrast to our style of play & will slow our tempo down. We need someone like a fit Martial who can score as well as create chances for others, breaking out of tight spaces into open play. We have many who can do this out wide but no one through the center. Needn't be particularly fast & pacy but needs to be a good finisher, skillful technique & play making skills.

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

What club is going to give away a center forward in January? That is like asking Fulham for mitrovic. He’s the difference between them staying up and no amount of money can persuade them to sell in this window, let alone strike a loan deal.

Vlahovic? If Juventus are indeed in a very dire need of money and thus must offload some wages, they will have to accept our offer if no one else is sniffing around. It's not too dissimilar to the way Barcelona fecked themselves, but the difference is that no local government will help Juventus with monetary nor government support.

 

[croadyman]

Vlahovic? If Juventus are indeed in a very dire need of money and thus must offload some wages, they will have to accept our offer if no one else is sniffing around. It's not too dissimilar to the way Barcelona fecked themselves, but the difference is that no local government will help Juventus with monetary nor government support.

Keep seeing this brought up but if their situation was so urgent then surely would have heard something by now. Certain it won't happen but by 2024 would love to have a proven 9 (Kane/Osimhen/Vlahovic) AND able backup too.

 

[DRJosh]

If Crouch was still playing, he would be a useful squad player to chuck up front when a goal is needed. I don’t think we’d find an intricately skilled attacker in this window given the limited funds available.

 

[croadyman]

If Crouch was still playing, he would be a useful squad player to chuck up front when a goal is needed. I don’t think we’d find an intricately skilled attacker in this window given the limited funds available.

Feel we need either a dirt cheap or more realistically loan central striker who can finish chances in and around box

 

[tenpoless]

Giroud for free
Sack him when we dont need him anymore, tell him his team mates are allergic to his hair gel
Its that simple

 

[Jeffthered]

It'll be a contrast to our style of play & will slow our tempo down. We need someone like a fit Martial who can score as well as create chances for others, breaking out of tight spaces into open play. We have many who can do this out wide but no one through the center. Needn't be particularly fast & pacy but needs to be a good finisher, skillful technique & play making skills.

If you still think, after God knows how many years, that Anthony Martial is the 1st choice, quality striker that is appropriate for a club like Manchester United, then I really do wonder about the ambition of some of our fans.

Look at how Martial plays, and compare his attitude, his application to Eriksen, Rashford, Martinez, De Gea, Dalot, Malacia...it's not even in the same league. I personally cannot wait to get a proper centre forward in. Martial has been there years and does v v little. Deschamps wants nothing to do with him and it's obvious why.

An average player. Not good enough for what we need or should aspire to.

 

[croadyman]

If you still think, after God knows how many years, that Anthony Martial is the 1st choice, quality striker that is appropriate for a club like Manchester United, then I really do wonder about the ambition of some of our fans.

Look at how Martial plays, and compare his attitude, his application to Eriksen, Rashford, Martinez, De Gea, Dalot, Malacia...it's not even in the same league. I personally cannot wait to get a proper centre forward in. Martial has been there years and does v v little. Deschamps wants nothing to do with him and it's obvious why.

An average player. Not good enough for what we need or should aspire to.

We need two types of CF as in someone who is a box predator and whatever you might feel a similar type player to Martial

 

[bringbackbebe]

If you still think, after God knows how many years, that Anthony Martial is the 1st choice, quality striker that is appropriate for a club like Manchester United, then I really do wonder about the ambition of some of our fans.

Look at how Martial plays, and compare his attitude, his application to Eriksen, Rashford, Martinez, De Gea, Dalot, Malacia...it's not even in the same league. I personally cannot wait to get a proper centre forward in. Martial has been there years and does v v little. Deschamps wants nothing to do with him and it's obvious why.

An average player. Not good enough for what we need or should aspire to.

You mistook me. I wanted someone with skills "like" Martial as a solution, not Martial himself with all the other baggage he carries.

 

[DWelbz19]

Whitwell is also running the “loans only” story:

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[devilish]

We need Jadon to finally be useful ASAP . Greenwood, Jadon and Ronaldo had left us so light upfront that its almost unreal

 

[Bojan Djordjic]

In other words our owners don’t want to spend any hard -looted cash…

To be fair it’s also that there are no really viable options at CF. Even the options put out by fans who are rarely realistic in their outlooks look incredibly uninspiring. The only goal scoring guarantees are now past their prime (Kane, Lewandowski, Benzema), are at rich rivals (Haaland, Mbappe, Salah). The mid-levels are ferociously expensive for the goal output you buy (Toney, Tammy, Osimhen) and there are no real early 20s players showing high level ability at 9 (not wide forward or false nine)

 

[Sunny Jim]

So the Athletic are reporting we didnt have money to buy Gakpo so only loan deals are possible. Go feck yerself Glazers. I hope we find some decent option in the bargain bin

 

[Messier1994]

Giroud for free
Sack him when we dont need him anymore, tell him his team mates are allergic to his hair gel
Its that simple

Giroux is a key player for AC Milan. The one striker we probably could get for them, if he would be OK with it, is:

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

But I don’t think that will happen haha.

 

[devilish]

Salomon Rondon on a free?

 

[tenpoless]

Giroux is a key player for AC Milan. The one striker we probably could get for them, if he would be OK with it, is:

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

But I don’t think that will happen haha.

Salomon Rondon on a free?

Any one of these happening would be a Xmas miracle.
One is created by Santa, the other Satan.

 

[NoPace]

It'll be a contrast to our style of play & will slow our tempo down. We need someone like a fit Martial who can score as well as create chances for others, breaking out of tight spaces into open play. We have many who can do this out wide but no one through the center. Needn't be particularly fast & pacy but needs to be a good finisher, skillful technique & play making skills.

I agree, and I'm not sure who that player is, but I think we're just gonna grab the best available #9 on loan for the next 4 months and solve the problem in the summer. Maybe we'll go on a high profile pursuit for Ramos or someone but his club will demand an insane amount and we won't meet the number.

 

[Strelok]

It'll be a contrast to our style of play & will slow our tempo down. We need someone like a fit Martial who can score as well as create chances for others, breaking out of tight spaces into open play. We have many who can do this out wide but no one through the center. Needn't be particularly fast & pacy but needs to be a good finisher, skillful technique & play making skills.

I didn't mean that cheap tall striker could be our starter. I was talking about adding more options to our front. And ETH actually played with a tall target striker at Ajax I think. Not a bad thing to have more options and to cover what we are lacking imo.

Of course I'm all for a top striker but looking at out finance and rumors of new owner it's unlikely to happen. Adding another cheap and average fast striker won't do us any good I think.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Just go get Joao on loan, then in the summer we will explore more options to buy like Vlahovic or Osimhen or someone.

 

[Black Alabaster]

To be fair it’s also that there are no really viable options at CF...there are no real early 20s players showing high level ability at 9 (not wide forward or false nine)

If you take a look across the top leagues there are a quite a few U25 strikers with near 1 every 2 or few with close to goal a game contribution like Terem Moffi, Kolo Muani, Goncalo Ramos etc who are playing very well in different systems as strikers. Many more with slightly lower G/A that good data analysis would reveal are on the cusp of doing G/A numbers very well.

A lot more in the smaller leagues like young Ivorian David Fofana who chelsea just signed to replace Broja with 15 in 24 games at Molde.

We shouldn't fall into the trap of saying theres no one young out there who couldn't score goals or step up at a bigger club as there doubtlesss is, just depends on our new scouting system that will hopefully look deeper at underlying numbers & further than more Maguire, AWB style Harry Kane signings for £80m again.

 

[Bojan Djordjic]

If you take a look across the top leagues there are a quite a few U25 strikers with near 1 every 2 or few with close to goal a game contribution like Terem Moffi, Kolo Muani, Goncalo Ramos etc who are playing very well in different systems as strikers. Many more with slightly lower G/A that good data analysis would reveal are on the cusp of doing G/A numbers very well.

A lot more in the smaller leagues like young Ivorian David Fofana who chelsea just signed to replace Broja with 15 in 24 games at Molde.

We shouldn't fall into the trap of saying theres no one young out there who couldn't score goals or step up at a bigger club as there doubtlesss is, just depends on our new scouting system that will hopefully look deeper at underlying numbers & further than more Maguire, AWB style Harry Kane signings for £80m again.

I personally wouldn't touch Moffi or Kolo Muani if they were coming with high-ish fees. Both are scoring goals at a far higher rate than their xG and so I would be super sceptical of them being able to replicate it in the premiership. I do like Ramos but he would also come at a very high price and would present a good deal of risk at the price you would buy him for.

Fofana was somebody I myself suggested earlier in one of these threads but it's very unlikely he's ready to perform at this level coming from the norwegian league regardless of his talent. You'd be taking a gamble but in my view it'd be worth the gamble given the low fee and potential upside.

 

[Bondi77]

I see there is some talk linking Jonathan David with us and he seems like a good profile to bring to the club.
I noticed on Whoscored that they have heading as a weakness but his skill set looks good so I wouldn't mind us going for him.
We are saving 26mil by cutting Ronnie loose so there has to be a bit of cash spare.

 

[croadyman]

I wouldn't be against either just Felix due to loan fee involved or a combination of Morata & Depay. Yes know those two aren't elite but at least would give us CF options.

 

[Lost bear]

To be fair it’s also that there are no really viable options at CF. Even the options put out by fans who are rarely realistic in their outlooks look incredibly uninspiring. The only goal scoring guarantees are now past their prime (Kane, Lewandowski, Benzema), are at rich rivals (Haaland, Mbappe, Salah). The mid-levels are ferociously expensive for the goal output you buy (Toney, Tammy, Osimhen) and there are no real early 20s players showing high level ability at 9 (not wide forward or false nine)

Yes, you’re completely right. I confess that really I just wanted the pleasure of slagging off the Glazers, and was prepared to hang my hat on a convenient nail. Not that they don’t deserve it, though…

 

[Messier1994]

Just go get Joao on loan, then in the summer we will explore more options to buy like Vlahovic or Osimhen or someone.

It shouldn’t be that hard to sell someone like Pellestri to make the math add up. The hopes are probably that you get 10m for Pellestri, but unless there are someone really keen on him you probably have to settle for 5. That still a big deal if you are financing a 15m deal.

 

[Silverman]

What about Leao?

 

[sincher]

Would take Haaland on loan.

 

[croadyman]

What about Leao?

They wouldn't let him leave in January

 

[Guapa]

I’d give Morata a shot if available.When he and Lukaku came to Chelsea and us respectively I thought both would have done better at the other club,so to speak.Still like to see him in a Utd shirt,see if it fits.

 

[croadyman]

I’d give Morata a shot if available.When he and Lukaku came to Chelsea and us respectively I thought both would have done better at the other club,so to speak.Still like to see him in a Utd shirt,see if it fits.

I'm not against it either,yes he wasn't a big hit at Chelsea but feel under Erik he might be able to get a Juve like half season out of him

 

[Sauxees Moi Hui]

It seems that the worst mistake we can make in January is to bring in someone average on a multi-year contract. I'd rather sign no one and head into the summer with an open spot in the squad for a star player and - I assume - new owners eager to make the club competitive again and spend money on an exciting striker signing.

If we do sign someone on loan, it really doesn't need to be someone incredible. A striker who can play the way ETH wants and chip in with a few goals would already be a clear upgrade on Ronaldo.