Paul Scholes wants Manchester United to land proven goalscorer this summer
Manchester United great Paul Scholes has advised the club to strengthen their attacking force by signing a proven goalscorer this summer.
The Red Devils have been busy making moves in the summer transfer window, signing Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro from Bologna and LOSC Lille respectively thus far. Yoro has arrived to fill in the void left by Raphael Varane, while Zirkzee brings cover and competition for young striker Rasmus Hojlund.
Despite the club spending £36.5m on Zirkzee’s signature alone, Paul Scholes has tipped his former club to re-enter the market for an experienced Premier League striker. The ex-player-turned-pundit, who won 11 Premier League titles among major honours during his illustrious career at Old Trafford, wants another ‘brilliant’ striker to arrive at the club.
“When I think about Manchester United, I think about brilliant centre-forwards,” Scholes told Sky Sports (h/t The Metro)
“I think they’ve had one young one last year in Rasmus Hojlund who they have had to rely on and it was a little bit unfair. He’s a young player, still learning the game.
“They’ve bought another young one [Zirkzee]… I would like to see an experienced centre-forward come and help with that and virtually guarantee goals.
“Whether that man is out there, I don’t know. But I think they need somebody who is proven and somebody who is proven and go on and be successful next year.”
Man United invested an eye-watering £72m to sign Hojlund from Atalanta last year. The Denmark international had an up-and-down debut season in English football, yet ended the campaign with 16 goals in 43 matches across all competitions.
With Anthony Martial—now a free agent upon the expiry of his contract in June—spending the majority of the 2023/24 term on the sidelines, the 21-year-old had to entirely shoulder the burden of scoring goals for Erik ten Hag’s team.
INEOS have swiftly addressed the team’s goalscoring issues and signed Zirkzee, hoping the Dutch forward manages to reduce Hojlund’s workload. As the 23-year-old isn’t an elite goalscorer, as evidenced by his returns of 14 goals in 58 appearances for Bologna in Italy, doubts are obvious to creep in whether Zirkzee and Hojlund would be enough to provide Ten Hag’s side with a regular supply of goals in the 2024/25 term.
Thus, Scholes is absolutely spot on with his views that the Red Devils need an out-and-out, Premier League-proven No.9 to guarantee goals. Brentford’s Ivan Toney, already linked with a switch to Old Trafford, would be an ideal fit. The English striker knows where the back of the net is, having proven himself across two top-flight campaigns.
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Having said that, however, with budget an issue this time around, it remains to be seen how much will Toney cost. Despite his contract expiring in 2025, the Bees are asking for £60 million. Man United may decide to re-enter the race should Toney’s asking price drop below £40 million—so things could get interesting as we head deeper into the summer transfer window.
