Five strikers Machester United could target this summer
Manchester United are scouring the transfer market for strikers after cooling their interest in Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann.
The 26-year-old forward signed a contract extension with Atleti on Tuesday and so United are looking elsewhere in their quest to acquire attacking reinforcements.
With the injured Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s deal not renewed, and Wayne Rooney possibly surplus to requirements, United boss Jose Mourinho is sure to use the summer window to bolster his forward options.
Here we have a look at those who may fit the bill for the ’Special One’.
Mourinho might be returning to former club Real Madrid to sign Spain international Morata, if his agent is to be believed. Juanma Lopez said on Tuesday United have lodged a "very important offer" for the 24-year-old, who scored 15 times in their La Liga title-winning campaign. Only Cristiano Ronaldo managed to net more for Real but Morata made just 14 league starts and he could be tempted away by the lure of regular first-team football. Morata returned to the Spanish capital last summer when Real activated a buy-back clause in his deal with Juventus.
Only Manchester City old boy Edin Dzeko and Napoli’s Dries Mertens plundered more goals than Torino’s Belotti in Italy’s top flight last season, and the latter’s 26 came for a team that finished ninth. A former Palermo team-mate of Paulo Dybala and Kyle Lafferty, Belotti has scored four times in nine appearances for his country too. However, those who are prolific in Serie A do not always have the same level of success in England - just ask Andriy Shevchenko - and he remains untested in the Champions League.
The most prized teenager in football has been linked with a string of top clubs in Europe despite Monaco’s insistence they want to keep hold of him. Still just 18, Mbappe burst onto the scene last term in his club’s run to the Ligue 1 title and the Champions League semi-finals. There has been talk of Mbappe commanding a world-record fee should he move on but United have not been as strongly linked as others. Would their experience of Monaco old boy Anthony Martial, a hugely talented but frustratingly inconsistent young forward, make them more cautious with Mbappe?
Belgian Lukaku is certainly a proven goalscorer having netted over 20 times in each of his three seasons with Everton, and he has spoken openly about his desire to challenge for silverware and to play in the Champions League. The stumbling block to any move may be Chelsea’s interest in reuniting with the 24-year-old and the fact Mourinho sold him when he was at the Stamford Bridge helm. Lukaku has since shown he is capable of becoming the main man for a club and that means he will be near the top of United’s wishlist.
Despite almost biannual speculation linking him with a move away from Lyon, France international Lacazette has just finished an eighth professional season with OL. The 26-year-old has scored 91 Ligue 1 goals over the past four seasons, 28 of which came in the previous campaign, to show he is far from a one-hit wonder. Next year Lyon will not be in the Champions League and that could be Lacazette’s cue to look elsewhere. He will also know that a spell at one of Europe’s elite clubs will enhance his international prospects ahead of France’s possible participation in next summer’s World Cup.
