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Going into this weekend’s game versus West Ham United, Erik ten Hag’s biggest problem will revolve around Manchester United’s attack.
The Red Devils have only netted 18 goals in 17 matches this campaign, which has played a large role in them sitting seventh in the Premier League.
With that in mind, the boss will be on the lookout for striker reinforcements in January in an attempt to fix their attacking woes.
Man Utd transfers latest – Mauro Icardi
As per Football Transfers, Man United are interested in bringing Mauro Icardi to the club in January on a loan deal until the end of the season.
The 5 foot 11, Galatasaray forward, who was described as an “animal” by his old Inter boss Luciano Spalletti, is reportedly open to a move to the Premier League.
How Mauro Icardi compares to Wout Weghorst
The Man United faithful have recently experienced a striker join the club on loan in January from a Turkish side in Wout Weghorst last season. The Dutch striker had been scoring for fun at Besiktas prior to joining the Red Devils, netting eight goals in 16 matches. However, his performances in England proved that judging a player’s ability based on their output in Turkey isn’t the best metric.
That said, Icardi has been on fire this season for Galatasaray, scoring 12 goals and making five assists in 16 appearances in the Super Lig. However, the difference between the ex-Paris Saint-Germain star and Weghorst is the fact that Icardi has proven to be a world-class striker previously, scoring 111 goals in 188 Serie A appearances for Inter before he left in 2019.
Signing an experienced striker for a short-term fix doesn’t seem like a terrible idea on paper, but it often seems like a move that a club without much strategy or ambition would make. Although Weghorst wasn’t completely terrible in his stint at Old Trafford, he didn’t light up the Premier League with his ability either, scoring zero goals in 17 appearances, which just highlights that he was a panic signing who didn’t have the quality to perform to the standards of Man United.
The potential move for Icardi has shades of last season’s failed loan attempt, and Ten Hag should be demanding a permanent deal that can act as a long-term solution to their lack of goals. A perfect alternative to the Argentine would be Serhou Guirassy of Stuttgart – another reported target – who has been unbelievable in the Bundesliga, scoring 17 goals in 14 appearances.
The 27-year-old can be acquired in January for just £15.2m, which is an absolute steal for someone of his quality, and it is the type of deal that United should be looking at instead of overpaying or looking for loan deals.
Overall, this is not to say that Icardi isn’t a quality striker or that he wouldn’t succeed at Old Trafford, but rather to highlight that the 30-year-old would only be a stop-gap.
Furthermore, given that United are out of Europe and the EFL Cup, the new year will be less busy than expected, and it is only a matter of time before the current first-choice number nine, Rasmus Hojlund, starts firing in the Premier League, which would reduce the Argentine’s game time.
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