Erik ten Hag told he must abandon Man Utd transfer policy to mount title charge

20 July 2023 , 21:05

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Erik ten Hag is in the market for a new forward (Image: Getty Images)

Andy Cole says Manchester United must abandon their policy of signing ageing strikers if they are serious about getting back to the top.

United are in talks to sign Atalanta's 20-year-old striker Rasmus Hojlund, with the two clubs so far unable to agree a compromise fee for the £80million-rated forward.

Former United forward Cole was critical of the club's recent transfer policy of recruiting older strikers nearing the end of their careers, insisting a younger attacker is needed to lead the attack long-term.

In recent seasons, United have signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani, and re-signed Cristiano Ronaldo, with Cole claiming such a short-term fix is doomed to failure.

"I'm not going to say that if Harry Kane became available for the right money I'd turn him down, obviously not," said Cole. But I think what Manchester United have been doing, for the past five or six years, is bringing people in who are in their mid-30s or late 30s for a couple of years, then we do it again the season after and we do it again.

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"That's why we've found ourselves in this position now. Long-term, we've not looked for that young centre-forward who can carry Manchester United in for the next five to 10 years or whatever it may be."

Cole, speaking to MUTV, said: "That's what Manchester United has been built on - the manager going into a season with three or four strikers. You're guaranteed what you're going to get. You might move someone else on, but you've got someone at that age who can carry the club forward.

Andy Cole has been speaking about Manchester United's striker issues (Getty Images)

"For instance, my position, I moved on, Ruud van Nistelrooy was there and went on for many years. But we're buying older centre forwards for a hell of a lot of money and then find ourselves in the same position a couple of years later. This is Manchester United – we're better than that."

Former United captain Bryan Robson said: "Everybody connected to the club, everybody within the club, is talking about the fact we need a centre forward.

"We need to catch up with Manchester City, even Arsenal – Newcastle score a lot more goals than us.

"So defensively, we are looking pretty good, but you've got to score goals to win games and get up there challenging for the title.

"We all know that, so hopefully we can get a few people out of the door for decent money and can get the funds that are needed to bring a striker in because everybody knows we need a striker."

Fred was not part of United's 31-man squad that arrived in the US for the club's four-game pre-season tour.

The midfielder, who has been linked with a move to Fulham, remained at home to deal with a personal issue but is expected to join up with the squad at a later date.

David McDonnell