It is a well-known fact that Manchester United have been underwhelming in attack this season, which is highlighted by the fact that only three teams have scored fewer than them this campaign in the league.
However, the most scrutinised player is 20-year-old Rasmus Hojlund, who only moved to the Red Devils last summer for £72m.
Since joining from Atalanta, the Danish striker has failed to live up to his price tag, as he has only netted twice in 16 Premier League matches.
Although those goals have arrived in his two most recent games, Erik ten Hag is still keen to address the centre-forward issue by scanning the market for a new star to lead the line.
Therefore, let's take a look at three dream strikers that Man Utd could sign in the near future to replace Hojlund.
1 Serhou Guirassy – Stuttgart
Serhou Guirassy is looking like one of the best value-for-money signings on the market, as according to Football Insider, Man Utd are interested in signing the Stuttgart star for just £15m in January.
The 27-year-old has been one of the most in-form strikers in the Bundesliga this campaign, netting 17 goals and registering two assists in just 14 appearances.
#1 Harry Kane
22
#2 Kylian Mbappe
19
#3 Lautaro Martinez
18
#4 Serhou Guirassy
17
#5 Erling Haaland
14
Those statistics blow Hojlund out of the water, and his reliability in putting the ball in the back of the net would make him a cheap, realistic upgrade on the Dane.
2 Brian Brobbey – Ajax
The next striker who could push Hojlund down the pecking order is perhaps a wildcard option, Brian Brobbey of Ajax, who formerly worked with Ten Hag at the Dutch club.
A report towards the end of last week from the Mirror stated that United are planning on making a move for Brobbey this summer.
The 21-year-old has become a key figure in the Ajax side this season, and he boasts an incredible record of 13 goal contributions in 16 Eredivisie starts.
Games
32
Goals
13
Assists
3
Minutes played
869
Starts
7
Minutes per goal
67
Not only would Brobbey provide goals, but he would also elevate those around him with his ability to cause chaos in the final third, as shown by his shot-creating actions being in the top 5% in the Eredivisie this season, as per FBref.
Therefore, the likes of Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, and Alejandro Garnacho could benefit from the ex-Leipzig striker.
3 Viktor Gyokeres – Sporting
Despite only moving to Portugal this summer in a £20m deal from Coventry, Viktor Gyokeres could be on the move once again after impressing for Sporting.
According to a report from Correio da Mania via The Sun towards the end of December, Ten Hag is interested in signing the Sweden star, and his release clause of £87m could be activated this summer.
Gyokeres is the definition of a complete striker, who can score and create from nothing. The 25-year-old has scored an impressive 11 goals and provided eight assists in 16 Liga Portugal games this season.
The clinical striker beats Hojlund in almost every single metric, according to FBref's comparison tool, and the table below shows a handful of statistics from their respective leagues proves that.
Goals
0.69
0.16
Assists
0.50
0.08
Shot-creating actions
4.33
2.25
Successful take-ons
2.38
0.80
Touches (Att pen)
8.91
4.10
Sir Jim Ratcliffe will want to start his United adventure off with a bang, and signing a finisher who has been described as a "Rolls-Royce" striker, by football writer Zach Lowy, would be the perfect way to do so.
