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Analysis
- 40 minutes ago
Five strikers for Man Utd if Sporting play hardball with Viktor Gyokeres
Analysis
Man Utd are having some troubles signing striker Viktor Gyokeres.
The Swedish striker has been linked with Man Utd ever since Ruben Amorim took the job at Old Trafford late last year.
Man Utd are desperate for a striker and Gyokeres turned into a goalscoring phenomenon under Ruben Amorim's watch in Portugal, so the links made a tonne of sense.
Current ETV
Viktor Gyökeres
F (C)
Sporting CP
Viktor Gyökeres
F (C)
Sporting CP
ETV Range
€69.3M - €84.8M
The only issue would be if Gyokeres had any more attractive offers, but for some reason he does not. 97 goals in 102 games across two seasons delivering titles in both not being an attractive quality Europe's major clubs are searching for apparently.
But this is good for Man Utd! Except... it isn't.
It had been reported that Sporting had a "gentleman's agreement" with Gyokeres to let him leave this summer for a reasonable fee of €60 million, but Federico Varandas the Sporting president has since claimed otherwise.
"I can guarantee that Viktor Gyokeres will not leave for 60m euros plus 10m euros because I never promised that," Varandas has said.
Man Utd are likely to still try to sign Gyokeres for as reasonable a fee as possible, but in the event that Varandas plays hardball over his Swedish striker, here are five alternative goal-getters Man Utd should pursue instead:
Victor Osimhen
Sometimes you can accidentally do the right thing, and Man Utd having to pursue Victor Osimhen because they couldn't go for Viktor Gyokeres would be one of those times.
Osimhen is genuinely the best striker on the open market and top five in the entire world (behind Mbappe, Haaland, Lewandowski and Kane). You couldn't ask for a more reliable and lethal goalscorer, especially if you're Man Utd.
STATS
Victor Osimhen
F (C)
Galatasaray
Victor Osimhen
F (C)
Galatasaray
With a summer of discontent and pre-season, Osimhen was shipped off to Galatasaray at the end of the summer window and still won the Turkish Super Lig as top scorer (26 league goals, 37 across all competitions).
Obviously the Nigerian's wage demands (around €12 million net a year, which is about 1 million less than Mohamed Salah's new contract) could be a stumbling block; but given how transformative a goalscorer would be for Man Utd, and given the fact that they should be thankful a world-class striker like Osimhen would even consider them... they really should just pay up.
Yoane Wissa
Man Utd are considered the favourites to sign Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford, with only disagreements over price delaying the move.
With that in mind, perhaps a move for team-mate Yoane Wissa would also be smart. Beyond the chemistry he'll display with Mbeumo; the Congolese striker has just had his most prolific season to date, scoring 19 times in the Premier League.
STATS
Yoane Wissa
F (C)
Brentford
Yoane Wissa
F (C)
Brentford
You could maybe wonder why it's taken him until now to score like this, but 19 non-penalty goals from an xG of 18.5 indicates he has finally found his rhythm as a striker and as long as Man Utd can create chances, he can put them away.
Vangelis Pavlidis
Vangelis Pavlidis is far from the most spicy name Man Utd could be linked with but in terms of scoring goals he could be very useful indeed.
An old-school box striker, Pavlidis scored 19 league goals for Benfica this past season (after scoring 29 for AZ in the Eredivisie the year before).
STATS
Vangelis Pavlidis
F (C)
Benfica
Vangelis Pavlidis
F (C)
Benfica
Moreover, Pavlidis bagged 7 goals in this season's Champions League, including a perfect hat-trick against Barcelona. He can handle the big stage and big opponents!
Stick him at the head of Ruben Amorim's Man Utd and he'll score plenty of goals.
Moise Kean
Many Man Utd fans will only associate Moise Kean with his spell at Everton where he was, to be charitable, somewhat less than productive.
However, he did scored 17 goals on loan at PSG during that time, and has just finished up a season where he had 25 goals across all competitions and 19 in Serie A alone.
Current ETV
Moise Kean
F (C)
Fiorentina
Moise Kean
F (C)
Fiorentina
ETV Range
€38M - €46.5M
At 25 years-old, Kean is finally entering his prime and may just have been a late bloomer all along. A physically robust forward with a good eye for goal, Kean could be a great alternative to Gyokeres for United, even though the signing would initially be mocked.
Jonathan Burkardt
Man Utd have tried on more than one occasion to sign Erling Haaland. Each time they failed and now he is a Man City legend well out of their reach.
But what if they could have Haaland at home?
Jonathan Burkardt is no Erling Haaland (he's 5'11 for starters) but he plays with the same kind of bustling energy and intent. The 24 year-old just scored 18 goals in the season and was pretty much the only reason Mainz had any relevance.
STATS
Jonathan Burkardt
F (C)
Mainz 05
Jonathan Burkardt
F (C)
Mainz 05
Burkardt plays with pace and physicality but with a real eye for goal. His 18 strikes come from an xG of 14.8, which is a healthy amount of overperformance.
Burkardt is no one season wonder, either. He scored 14 goals for Mainz in 2021/22 before surgery on an injured knee derailed him the next season and meant he only really got back to full fitness for this campaign.
In addition to his skill on the pitch, he's also a high character guy and a leader, being Mainz captain at his young age. Leadership is something Man Utd are lacking, so he's a great fit there as well.
He's not as established or known as the other names on this list, but has the potential to be more successful (well, bar Osimhen of course) in a United shirt.
With a price rumoured to be as low as €40 million, Jonathan Burkardt could be the answer to Man Utd's striking woes and it'd be best for the club to make a move before Bayern Munich eventually decide they'd like to snap him up to prepare for their post-Harry Kane era.
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Premier League
Man Utd
Jonathan Burkardt
Moise Kean
Vangelis Pavlidis
Victor Osimhen
Yoane Wissa
