20 May 2023 , 09:50
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Erik ten Hag is poised to sign not one but two strikers as Manchester United look to up their level ahead of the 2023-24 season.
The Red Devils have their fate in their hands as they seek Champions League qualification, but the lack of a prolific central striker has been an issue. Top scorer Marcus Rashford - predominantly used from a wide role - has 16 league goals, but no other member of their squad has even half as many.
Anthony Martial has five league goals in an injury-hit season, while both of Wout Weghorst's strikes since his January arrival have come in cup competitions. However, with a big-money double swoop planned, United could begin next season with an experienced goal-getter and one of the best young talents in support.
According to The Times, the two men at the top of Ten Hag's list are Harry Kane and Rasmus Hojlund. England captain Kane would command a huge fee despite approaching the final year of his Tottenham contract, while Atalanta star Hojlund is expected to cost around £40m.
Denmark international Hojlund, 20, only joined the Serie A side from Sturm Graz last summer. He has caught the eye with a goal or assist every 158 minutes in Serie A, though, and also scored his first senior international hat-trick in a victory over Finland in March.
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Kane and Hojlund aren't the only names being linked, with Napoli's Victor Osimhen and Eintracht Frankfurt's Randal Kolo Muani also potentially in the mix. However, former United frontman Andy Cole has questioned whether the top English scorer in the Premier League would solve deeper problems for the club.
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Rasmus Hojlund has impressed for club and country (Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)“Manchester United can’t go with a short-term solution again,” Cole toldWilliam Hill. “They can’t go and spend £100million on Harry Kane. In two years they’ll turn around and say to themselves, ‘he’s 32, we need to get ourselves another striker’. They can’t afford to find themselves in that position again.
“When you look at the recognised strikers that Manchester United have had, you look at the likes of Robin van Persie. But the crazy thing is that he only stayed for two years and ever since then it has just been one after another for two years.
“A football club like Manchester United cannot just keep having different strikers for two years at a time, it’s ridiculous. They know now that they have to sign someone who is going to give them five years.”
Dutch international Weghorst is expected to return to parent club Burnley when his loan ends, while questions remain over Martial's fitness with the Frenchman starting barely a quarter of his team's league games this season. And, unless Rashford hits four or more in the final three games, it will be a decade since any United player hit 20 in a single Premier League season. The last player to do so? Robin van Persie, in their most recent title-winning campaign.