When you finish the Premier League season with a -1 goal difference and only 57 goals scored in 38 outings, it’s pretty clear where your priorities should lie in the transfer market, right? Well, maybe not.
When Manchester United slumped to eighth in the table, only managing to secure European football thanks to their FA Cup triumph, it was clear that their blunt attack was their main issue and that it needed to be addressed in the transfer market.
Only six players in the entire squad managed to score more than two league goals all season. One of those six players was sold in Scott McTominay, another was shipped out on loan during the mid-season window in Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo can’t even get into the starting XI.
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Of the five major signings United made in the 2024 summer window, three of them were defenders and one was a defensive midfielder. Joshua Zirkzee represented the only attacking arrival, yet his haul of 13 goals in two years in Serie A hardly suggested he would be the answer to United’s goalscoring woes.
Did they really expect things to get any better? If they did then they’ll have been very disappointed.
Things only got worse in the 2024/25 season, with Rasmus Hojlund and Zirkzee – the club’s two senior centre forwards – managing just seven league goals between them. United scored 13 goals fewer last season than they managed in 2023/24, recording a -10 goal difference as they finished 15th in the table, having looked set to finish just one place above the relegation zone at one point.
Not strengthening their forward line last summer really was a huge mistake, but it’s something Ruben Amorim is looking to rectify this summer.
Wolves star Matheus Cunha’s arrival following his 15-goal haul with Wolves in the Premier League already makes the frontline picture look a little brighter. And if Bryan Mbeumo arrives – the league’s fourth-highest goalscorer last season – things will be looking even better.
And then there’s the big question mark of who will lead the line next season.
United are determined to sign a striker, with Viktor Gyokeres and Victor Osimhen two of the names continuing to be linked with the club. Both are regular goalscorers and would help to sharpen a very blunt attack.
It has taken far longer than it should have, but finally United are addressing their biggest problem.