The Red Devils are ɾєρօɾτedly interested in signing the international marksman this summer.
Manchester Unitedfinished third in thePremier Leaguein 22/23 and secured qualification for theChampions Leaguegroup stages next season.
However,Erik ten Hagmay not be content with only competing for a place in Europe and could look to make additions to his squad with the aim of gunning for the title.
Football Insider recently ɾєρօɾτedthat the club want to add a ‘marquee’ number nine to their squad. This makes sense when you consider that they rankedeighth in the divisionfor goals scored in 2022/23.
Marcus Rashford, who was deployed out wide or thɾօυɢҺ the middle, was the only United player to hitdouble figures (17) for goalsand this suggests that the club failed to replaceCristiano Ronaldo,who departed Old Traffordin November of last year.
The Portuguese legєɴԀ plundered18 league goals, which made him the side’s top goalscorer, in 21/22 and ten Hag is currently lacking a prolific number nine who can be a reliable scorer alongside Rashford in the final third.
Who could replace Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United?
United’s head coach could finally find the dream heir to Ronaldo’s throne in the number nine position by securing a Ԁєɑł to signDusan Vlahovicfrom Juventus this summer.
He is aɾєρօɾτed transfer targetfor the Premier League giants and is thought to be available for afee in the region of €90m(£77m), just 18 months on fromhis £66m switchto the Italian side from domestic rivals Fiorentina.
The 23-year-old marksman єɴԀured a difficult campaign in front of goal during the 2022/23 campaign as the Serbian internationalscored ten timesin 27 Serie A outings, although the exciting forward managed to marginally outperform hisxG of 9.73.
Whilst that return was still more than any United player outside of Rashfordproduced last term, Vlahovic did not live up to the standards he set for himself in the previous two campaigns.
The former Fiorentina hotshotracked up 24 goalsin 36 league matches in 2021/22 after an equally impressive21 strikes in 37Serie A games the season before that.
These returns are particularly outstanding when you factor in that no Manchester United player has scored more than 18 league goals in a season since Robin van Persie struck26 times in 2012/13.
Vlahovic, who was once hailed as”incredibly prolific”by scout Jacek Kulig, has the potential to be a goalscoring machine for the Red Devils, despite a dip in form over the last year, in the same way that Ronaldo was before his move to Saudi Arabia.
Ten Hag is clearly in the market for a marquee no.9 and Vlahovic’s returns in two of the last three seasons indicate that he would be exactly what the manager is looking for.
