Man Utd suffer blow in England striker pursuit

Tom Hancock

• 17 May 2023 21:16 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United will have to forget about signing Ivan Toney this summer, after the Brentford striker was hit with an eight-month ban over betting charges.

Toney had been touted as a potential target for Erik ten Hag’s side as they enter the market for a new number nine – but the England international will now not play again until January next year.

The 27-year-old was slapped with the lengthy suspension – and a £50,000 fine – by the FA for 232 breaches of the English football governing body’s rules on gambling.

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A move for Toney may be off the table, then, but Man Utd could well still go in for another England centre-forward in the upcoming transfer window: a certain Harry Kane.

Tottenham’s all-time leading scorer remains the most prominent name linked with a switch to Old Trafford – with Napoli’s star man Victor Osimhen also said to be of interest to United.

Eintracht Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani and Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic have also been rumoured as possible targets for the 13-time Premier League champions – as have Roma’s Tammy Abraham and, surprisingly given his unspectacular goals record, Brian Brobbey of Ajax.

READ MORE: Premier League 2023/24 summer transfers | All the Done Deals

A big gap to fill in attack

Man Utd have lacked an elite, in-form number nine ever since Ten Hag took over as manager last summer.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s controversy-laden second spell with the club decidedly petered out – he found the net just three times in his final 16 United appearances – culminating in his departure by mutual consent back in November.

Wout Weghorst arrived on loan from Burnley in January – but the Dutch target man was never going to be the long-term solution to this particular need for United.