Manchester United are almost certain to be on the market for a prolific forward this summer, as they look to ease the goalscoring burden on Rasmus Hojlund.
Currently, the young Dane is the only senior striker available to Erik ten Hag, as has been the case since Anthony Martial’s last outing on December 9, 2023.
The following month, it was announced that he had undergone successful surgery to correct a groin complaint and would be sidelined for around 10 weeks while he recovered, although we’ve yet to see him since.
It remains to be seen whether the No.9 will feature again before the season draws to a close next month, meaning he may have already played his final game for the club, given that his contract expires in June.
Nevertheless, a frontman is desperately needed, and acquiring one that’s already Premier League-proven wouldn’t go amiss.
United have previously found themselves linked to Brentford talisman Ivan Toney, who has scored 36 goals for the Bees since their promotion to the top flight in 2021.
Meanwhile, a lesser-linked name is Ollie Watkins. The 28-year-old is in red-hot form right now as he sees out a career-best campaign that’ll have undoubtedly caught the eye of numerous top clubs across Europe; the Aston Villa ace has a remarkable 26 goals and 12 assists to his name in 48 appearances this term.
He has played an integral role at the heart of Unai Emery’s resurgent side, who could well defy all odds and book themselves a Champions League spot in the coming weeks.
Former Red urges United to go all out for Watkins
Paul Parker weighed in on United’s transfer business over the summer and insisted that they must pursue Watkins no matter the price.
He said, as cited by The Mirror: “If you are going to bring in another player to give competition to Hojlund, in my opinion, it’s not going to be Ivan Toney. It’s going to be somebody of more note than Ivan Toney.
“You’d say the same about Ivan Toney working with somebody of note. He hasn’t had enough points on the board as a Premier League striker to be in the position of having an understudy, in my opinion. Does Ivan Toney play as a centre-forward? Not really. He’s trying to play more like a Harry Kane in that sense.
“If you’re going to bring a centre-forward in and you’re going to keep him UK-based, in my opinion, you bring in Watkins. But he’s going to cost you £100 million, and deservedly at that. Ivan Toney, £25-30 million, but Watkins has proven his worth every time.”
