Manchester United’s nightmare streak on the switch entrance has been illuminated in all its horrific glory this season.
Rasmus Hojlund hasn’t precisely been a poor signing. The Norwegian does have 5 Champions League targets to indicate for his efforts however the lack of a purpose within the Premier League is massively regarding.
What makes issues worse is that no ahead in United’s ranks has scored greater than two league targets all marketing campaign. Scott McTominay is their prime scorer with 5 league strikes for context.
Because of this, signing some further firepower within the January window must be of utmost significance.
Man United’s January striker hunt
Nicely, if you happen to thought we’d have some constructive information for you, suppose once more. Will United signal an thrilling new striker in January? Probably. Stuttgart sensation Serhou Guirassy has been linked.
Nevertheless, in newer days some questionable targets have emerged. Mauro Icardi – scorer of a purpose in Europe towards the Purple Devils this time period – is an alleged identify the membership may signal on mortgage.
Another choice is Sevilla’s bullish ahead Youssef En-Nesyri. That is based on studies from The Solar who counsel that with Guirassy unappealed by the mission in Manchester, they’ve turned their consideration to the Moroccan as an alternative.
Underneath contract till 2025, it is thought a cut price charge of £16m might be sufficient to see him transfer to England. Sadly, this might be one other disastrous repeat of the Wout Weghorst deal final January.
Wout Weghorst’s document at Man United
After Cristiano Ronaldo departed the Theatre of Desires final winter for Saudi Arabia, a alternative was wanted.
Did Erik ten Hag splash the money on a flowery new recruit? Removed from it. Burnley striker Weghorst arrived on a short-term mortgage deal till the top of the season.
Unsurprisingly this did not go based on plan in any respect. The Dutchman failed to attain in 17 Premier League outings for the Purple Devils and solely discovered the web twice in all competitions.
Weghorst cannot be accused of an absence of making an attempt however the reality of the matter is he wasn’t of the standard wanted to thrive as a striker in a membership like United.
It led to an enormous quantity of criticism, notably from his fellow countryman Ruud Gullit who said that the tall ahead merely was “not ok.”
So why would En-Nesyri be ok? Nicely, the problem is he in all probability would not be.
Youssef En-Nesyri’s purpose document
Just like the aforementioned Icardi, En-Nesyri has discovered the web towards United in Europe in current occasions.
When Ten Hag’s males took on Sevilla within the Europa League, he scored twice within the second leg of their quarter-final conflict, notably cashing in on a “horror present” from United and former goalkeeper David De Gea.
The Morocco star was really somewhat prolific final time period, scoring 18 targets in all competitions however his document past that’s hardly a lot to shout about.
9 targets have adopted this time period however he has largely been met with bouts of inconsistency all through his profession. Certainly, the 26-year-old bagged simply 5 occasions in 29 outings for the Spanish aspect in 2021/22.
Worryingly, he additionally ranks somewhat poorly in some essential metrics. In comparison with positionally comparable gamers in Europe’s prime 5 leagues, as per FBRef, En-Nesyri sits contained in the worst 1% for shot-creating actions, passes tried and progressive passes
The 6 foot 2 attacker additionally ranks within the worst 5% for profitable take-ons and worst 12% for progressive carries. He’s within the prime 25% for aerials gained which solely goes to showcase the similarities between him and Weghorst.
If Ten Hag has ambitions of conserving his job and taking United again to the highest stage, that is merely a signing they need to keep away from in any respect prices.