Osimhen, Kolo Muani or Kane? The best €100m fit for Man Utd next season

Robin Bairner

• 16 Mar 2023 12:00 GMT
• 4 min read

Manchester United’s transfer shortlist for a superstar striker next season appears to have been narrowed down to three candidates: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Victor Osimhen (Napoli) and Randal Kolo-Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt).

All three players will come with a luxury price point. Any of the three will cost in excess of €100 million and would more than likely represent a club-record transfer fee.

Given the ownership doubts over the Red Devils at present, there is no guarantee that Man Utd will be able to spend such a lavish fee on any of these players and other options will be considered at a cheaper price.

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But if the Red Devils are able to land one of this superstar trio, who would fit the style of Erik ten Hag’s side best?

According to a report from Sky Sport Germany, Osimhen is rated higher than Kolo Muani, who German sources had suggested could be a €120m target for United in the summer, but does the data back that up?

FootballTransfers, in conjunction with data analytics experts SciSports, have compared the styles of Kane, Kolo Muani and Osimhan to study who might be the best addition.

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Which Man Utd target is the best fit?

The good news for Man Utd supporters is that all three fit the style and formation that Ten Hag likes to play. Within this framework, though, there are different strengths and weaknesses for each player given what Ten Hag looks for.

In terms of pressing, Osimhen and Kolo Muani are both stronger than Kane. In particular, the Napoli forward excels in this aspect of the game.

But where the England and Tottenham striker excels is in passing. Given that Ten Hag likes his team to control possession, Kane’s range of passing is a highly attractive facet to his game.

As SciSports' Yash Shah explains: “Kane is an elite passer and by far the best of the trio. He is comfortable dropping deeper to pull opposition defenders out of position and then supplying runners from out wide. This is something Dusan Tadic did well playing as a false 9 for Ten Hag. Kane could replicate his lethal combination with Heung-min Son, with the likes of Antony and Rashford and Sancho.”

Where Kolo Muani holds the edge, though, is in terms of his versatility. He is more able to play out wide and is a better dribbler than this rivals.

And what of finishing, which has been such a hot topic with Wout Weghorst struggling in the No.9 role?

Both Osimhen and Kane are elite finishers but Osimhen’s shooting volume per 90 is much higher. Kolo Muani lags in this regard. Osimhen can match this with great proficiency at finding space both in the box and in the final third.

So all three players fit Manchester United and Ten Hag in a tidy manner – but the exact style of the team next season will ride upon whether the Red Devils’ go for Kane’s passing, Kolo Muani’s versatility or Osimhen’s predatory instinct.