Ranking the strikers linked with Man Utd in January: Osimhen replacement ahead of Ten Hag’s old boy

Manchester United need a striker this month but money is tight and they may have to rely on the loan market – again. Here’s how we’ve ranked their options, based on the centre-forwards they are being linked with…

6) Lois Openda (RB Leipzig)
The Belgium striker has struggled to keep pace with the Bundesliga’s leading two marksmen this season but there’s no shame in that; Openda has still scored 11 while laying on another four, making him good for a goal involvement every 84 minutes.

So it is little wonder that clubs across Europe are monitoring the 23-year-old who joined Leipzig only last summer from Lens. The Germans paid a fee that could eventually total £40million – by some way their record signing – so only for a huge profit would they be minded to sell so soon.

There is talk that Openda has a release clause worth around £70million – but even that doesn’t come into play until next year. So United would have to pay a huge fee, which makes him unattainable for now. Next…

5) Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Bayern Munich)
The former Stoke forward seems much more like the kind of striker United might stumble towards come the end of the month. Which is not the slight it may sound, but more a reflection on United’s recruitment record that they would move for a veteran back-up.

Choupo-Moting has played that role diligently for Bayern Munich and, previously, at PSG where he moved from the Potters in 2018. In three seasons at Bayern, the 34-year-old has scored 38 goals in 107 appearances, though only 42 of those came as a starter.

Thomas Tuchel has handed the Cameroon striker only three starts this season while Harry Kane scores for fun so it’s little surprise to hear that Choupo-Moting is apparently keen to move to Old Trafford where his personal prospects look considerably better even if the club’s don’t match.

Choupo-Moting is out of contract at the end of the season, though most of the talk around United’s interest centres on a loan deal for the remainder of the campaign until the veteran becomes a free agent.

4) Mehdi Taremi (Porto) 
Likewise, Taremi is careering towards free agency – and some of his suitors would prefer the Iranian to wait before he leaves Porto.

Inter Milan are said to be keen to sign Taremi but their finances mean the Italians will have to wait until the summer when Porto could not command a transfer fee. And perhaps Inter are wary having seen AC Milan mucked about last summer, when Porto and the player reportedly changed the terms after a deal had been agreed with the Rossoneri.

So United have a window this month to move for Taremi. Since moving to Porto in 2020, the 31-year-old has scored 86 goals in 171 games in all competitions, including six league goals this season in 24 matches.

Taremi is no spring chicken but his fitness record is excellent and Porto are in not in the same position to take the p*ss like they did with Milan.

3) Serhou Guirassy (Stuttgart)
Guirassy’s numbers are too good to ignore. The Stuttgart striker has 17 goals in 14 Bundesliga games having kept pace with Kane for much of the campaign before a brief injury lay-off. In all competitions, it’s 19 goals and two assists in 16 games for Guirassy.

Flash in the pan? A record of one in two in the Bundesliga last season suggests not. Stuttgart would far rather keep Guirassy while they maintain a push for a Champions League place – they are currently third – but the matter may come out of their hands.

Aside from his goal tally this term, the most attractive thing about Guirassy is his price tag. Or rather, it was.

Had United, or anyone else, made a decisive move for the 27-year-old, they could have bagged themselves a £15million bargain owing to a release clause in his Stuttgart contract. That opportunity has passed, though, with the clause having expired at this late stage of the window, presumably to protect Stuttgart from being caught out without being able to source a replacement.

Guirassy has also proved himself in different systems for Stuttgart: a counter-attacking style, as well as a possession-based approach. He is also comfortable playing with his back to goal, an area in which Hojlund has plenty to learn. Guirassy is no goal-hanger – in Stuttgart’s system, he has to play a major role in the build-up and a quick glance at his goals this season suggests he can create opportunities for himself rather than rely on the kind of service United struggle to provide.

Guirassy’s sassy #MD5 completed the perfect 🔟 #Bundesliga | #BundesligaMatchFacts | @AWScloud pic.twitter.com/w1MnYlybgA

— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) September 27, 2023

2) Brian Brobbey (Ajax)
Ten Hag has been linked with a move for this former player since he took over at Old Trafford. It was thought that the 21-year-old would become a target once more before the start of next season but reports suggest Ten Hag might seek to swoop prior to the end of the month.

This season, Brobbey has almost equalled his output from last term when he scored 14 goals and offered four assists – he is just one goal behind from 20 fewer games, despite Ajax having been a shambles for much of the season.

Brobbey revealed that he rejected Ten Hag’s advances in 2022. “Erik ten Hag called me and said that at United, my agent would get millions of euros and I could earn a multiple of my Ajax salary. But our decision was clear: we wanted to go to Ajax.”

It is understandable why the 5’11” powerhouse wanted to return to where he felt comfortable after a rough spell at RB Leipzig, where he failed to score in 14 appearances in the first half of the 2021-22 season. Through the second half, back in Amsterdam, he bagged seven in 11 Eredivisie games.

If Brobbey is worried about struggling to adjust to unfamiliar surroundings, at least he knows Ten Hag can get goals out of him. For the current United boss, the Netherlands striker has scored 13 goals in 32 matches.

1) Jonathan David (Lille) 
As a proven goalscorer in a title-winning side at a good age, David seems to tick most of United’s boxes. We don’t know for sure how much Lille will want for their centre-forward, however much the player may wish to move on. There is talk of a £34million price tag, which doesn’t seem unreasonable for a striker with David’s profile.

David joined Lille from Gent in 2020 to replace Napoli-bound Victor Osimhen. In the three-and-a-half years since, he’s scored 68 goals in 160 games across all competitions. Ever since he arrived in Europe, David has hit at least a dozen league goals per season in Belgium and France. This term hasn’t been his most prolific, with five in Ligue 1 and 10 in all competitions, which is still more than United’s highest scorers.

David will turn 24 next week, meaning his peak is likely still ahead of him but already he has bundles of experience across domestic and European competitions. He is arguably the most appealing prospect on this list, which inevitably means United would face competition. Aston Villa are said to be keen and so too are AC Milan. Which might prompt a bidding war but Lille will be wary that David’s current deal expires in 18 months.

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