Manchester United have been showing a clear intent in recruiting to their attacking trio already this summer, however the strategy for this is more calculated than it might seem.
Last season United suffered their worst Premier League result on record, coming 15th overall.
Whilst there were several factors causing this, one significant one lies with the strikers and their lack of consistency in front of goal.
In fact, the consistency that Rasmus Hojlund did show was the wrong kind, with the Denmark international consistently failing to register a goal in 21 straight games, with 20 of them even seeing him fail to grab an assist.
As such, a lot of the strain of grabbing goal contributions fell on Bruno Fernandes, Amad Diallo and Alejandro Garnacho.
However, with Garnacho set to depart this summer, his replacement was desperately needed to sit behind the solo striker.
With the issues surrounding Hojlund, leading to a potential sale this summer, signing a reliable striker has been a must this summer, with nothing yet to materialise.
So far United have only managed to lock down Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Bryan Mbeumo being United’s next priority.
Now, Laurie Whitwell has suggested that these two have been prioritised over a striker for a reason, to use the pair as part of their pitch for incoming strikers.
The duo have been able to register a significant number of goal contributions this season, with a combined 35 goals and 14 assists in the Premier League.
As such, United are able to show any incoming striker would have support behind them, not just to share the goalscoring load, but also to have some reliable support to set the striker up.
After discussing the strikers United are looking at, with the likes of Hugo Ekitike, Viktor Gyokeres and Victor Osimhen on the list, Whitwell explained the role Cunha and Mbeumo could play with landing a striker.
The Athletic journalist commented: “I think that’s why they wanted to get Cunha and another striker, a forward done, so Mbeumo they hope will be that person.”
He continued: “So they feel a bit more comfortable then with a level of goalscoring potential in that team so then maybe it just give them a little bit more leverage in talks with, you know, the potential clubs that they might be looking at getting strikers from.”
🚨🎯 “That then just gives them a little bit more leverage in talks with the potential clubs that they could be looking at getting strikers from…”@lauriewhitwell on #MUFC‘s search for a centre forward and why the signings of Cunha and Mbeumo could help later down the line 🔴 pic.twitter.com/kNq5KGgt7s
— Stretford Paddock (@StretfordPaddck) June 25, 2025
