Manchester United cannot afford to be as toothless in attack next season as they were in the 2024/25 campaign if they want to escape their Premier League rut. But if Ruben Amorim’s early summer transfer business is anything to go off, that prospect is surely unlikely, if impossible.
United recorded just 44 league goals last term, a meagre tally only superior to Everton’s 42 and that of the three comfortably relegated teams. Perhaps that is to be expected when three of the club’s senior forwards were still on the payroll but playing elsewhere.
Marcus Rashford spent the second half of the season on loan at Aston Villa, while Antony also left in January for a temporary stint at Real Betis. Jadon Sancho departed for Chelsea months earlier.
It left Alejandro Garnacho, Amad, Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund as the forwards at Amorim’s disposal, but the quartet managed just 21 goals between them.
Chido Obi’s emergence from the academy offered a new option, but it still was not enough as United slumped to a humiliating 15th-place finish.
The jury is still out on Zirkzee, Hojlund has lost a significant level of faith, and Garnacho will leave permanently this summer.
Amad was a shining light in a dark season and finally looks to be realising the potential that convinced United to invest £19m in the teenage Atalanta winger in 2021.
Yet, even the 22-year-old’s standout campaign conjured up numbers – eight goals and eight assists in 26 league outings – that will not win titles if they come from your star player.
For that reason, United’s summer transfer strategy is cause for encouragement.
When Amorim’s squad return to Carrington for pre-season on July 7, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo should be present.
Cunha has already arrived from Wolves in a £62.5m move, while United are close to agreeing a fee north of £60m for Mbeumo.
Brentford have dragged their heels over the 25-year-old’s fee, but he has reportedly played his part in pushing for a transfer by making it clear that Old Trafford is his dream destination.
For the latest breaking stories and headlines, sign up to our Daily Express MUFC newsletter, or join our WhatsApp community here.
Last season, Cunha struck 15 goals and provided six assists in 33 Premier League games. Mbeumo plundered 20 goals and seven assists across 38 outings.
In Amad’s entire Premier League career, he has nine goals and eight assists to his name. As good as the Ivorian starlet is, both of United’s new arrivals are upgrades.
You could go further.
Garnacho has only scored 16 times in 93 Premier League games, Rashford has managed just 13 across the last two seasons, Hojlund’s tally of 14 in the same period isn’t much better, while Antony has notched up five since 2022.
Not only are United upgrading their best forward in Amad, but the Red Devils are levelling up their entire attacking regiment.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk