While much has been made of United’s defensive struggles in the current campaign, the Red Devils have often been listless, lethargic and ineffective in the attacking third of the pitch.

Through 28 games, United have created just 291 chances, only good enough for 8th-best in the EPL, and a century behind crosstown rivals Manchester City.

Aside from the Red Devils’ current offensive issues, they will likely face more problems this summer.

Radamel Falcao, who believes he chose the wrong club, per Ian Ladyman of The Daily Mail, looks destined for a move away from Old Trafford, while Paul Smith of The Independent envisioned a Robin van Persie exit months ago.

Even with the poor form, injury issues and rapid decline that both of these players have experienced, the fact remains that the pair have combined for 14 goals and six assists in EPL action this season.

United fans may be happy if they departed in the summer, but a direct goals replacement (or replacements), preferably of superior quality, would still have to be lined up.

Luckily for United, this seems to be a reasonable task, as their status as one of the most iconic clubs in the world is still intact. Just as important as the reputation of a club in the pursuit of a player, however, is how much money that club has the capacity to spend.

Many clubs are well respected but simply don’t have the budget to splash out on transfer fees like United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Barcelona, Real Madrid or Paris-Saint Germain.

United, known as a wealthy club in the Premier League era, will become even richer at the conclusion of the current season, with a record-breaking Adidas kit deal kicking in. The deal, which will pay United £75 million per season, per BBC News, will truly put them in the financial territory to be able to sign any player in the world.

This does not mean, however, that any striker in the world is willing to come to United, or that his team is wiling to sell him. 

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have 32 and 30 league goals respectively, and they are the top two players in the world. Barcelona and Real have no reason to sell their star men, though, and it would take an absolutel miracle for United to even land one.

Next, Diego Costa has 18 league goals, while Sergio Aguero comes in just behind at 17. Neymar and Arjen Robben, not really strikers, are still having magnificent seasons that match the goal tally of Aguero. Once again, United have little to no chance of landing any of these players. Aguero and Costa have both pleased their respective clubs, Manchester City and Chelsea, who would be unlikely to sell to a rival if they were happy with the production they were getting.

Neymar is already one of the world’s best players at the age of 23 and is widely considered the heir to Messi’s throne in Catalonia. He’s not going anywhere.

Robben, although unlikely, is a more interesting situation. On one hand, the Dutchman is probably having the best season of his life and is absolutely essential to Bayern Munich’s silverware aspirations. On the other hand, he is 31 years old, and he may not look like the same player for any more than a couple of seasons.

If United come with a hefty ofter, Bayern could be tempted to sell high, and Robben could be attracted to the idea of playing under Louis van Gaal, a man he speaks highly of.

With most if not all of the aforementioned players probably unavailable, United find themselves targeting an already-productive but still-developing youngster. Thomas Muller of Bayern Munich is an exception to this, as he has been linked with United in the past. Like Robben however, he is an essential part of Bayern’s mission.

The more realistic targets for United, simply, are the ones at smaller clubs. Every player dreams of playing for a big club like United and (hopefully) winning trophies, and this rhetoric, combined with United’s deep pockets, should be enough to tempt at least one upcoming striking starlet.

Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan), Carlos Bacca (Sevilla), Paulo Dybala (Palermo), and Andre Lacazette (Lyon) all have at least 12 league goals (in fact, Lacazette has a whopping 23, fewer than only Ronaldo and Messi).

All of these players have been extremely productive for their respective teams this season and represent more realistic targets than the Ronaldos, Messis and Agueros of world football, even if they are still highly coveted.

Despite being the youngest player in this Squawka graphic, Dybala very well may be the most complete. The 21-year-old is scoring at approximately a one-in-two rate, completes 2.73 take-ons per 90 minutes and completes a tidy 82 percent of his passes. According to Jamie Sanderson of The Metro, United might have already made a bid for the Argentinian.

Over in France, Alexandre Lacaztte is playing unbelievable football, with only Ronaldo and Messi having more goals in Europe’s top five leagues. The Frenchman also creates 1.65 chances per 90, and with his blistering pace, he would probably enjoy life in the EPL.

Harry Kane is already enjoying life in England, with 16 goals thus far this season. As good a scorer as he is, he is also sneakily quick and smart, creating 1.01 chances per 90 and completing 1.81 take-ons.

Bacca and Icardi, finally, are less complete than their counterparts and seem to be more in the poacher mold, at least for now. They both produce less than one take-on and chance per 90, despite both scoring in over half of their games respectively. They represent good options for United, but probably not as good options as Lacazette, Dybala or Kane.

If United could land one of the aforementioned three strikers in the upcoming transfer window, they should be happy with their work. With Lacazette being chased by Liverpool, per another Sanderson report in the Metro, and Dybala a hot commodity as well, it will be difficult to land these players.

Kane, also, has been immense for Spurs this season, and they would suffer majorly without him. If Spurs were to sell him, it’s likely they would look beyond the EPL.

However, while United have competition for these players, they should feel good about their chances of landing a top striker.

They’ll have the biggest budget they’ve had in history and will likely have a gaping hole for a quality forward to come in and fill.

Oh yeah, and they’re still Manchester United.

Stats and info via Squawka.com

 

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