Manchester United might need to finish the season with only the woefully out-of-form Rasmus Hojlund as their only striking option after what happened on Sunday.
Following the Dane’s disastrous showing against Olympique Lyonnais on Thursday, Ruben Amorim rightly dropped him from the starting XI for the game against Newcastle United.
His replacement Joshua Zirkzee was having a decent game as he showed flashes of brilliance before suffering what seemed like a hamstring injury.
After the match, the head coach revealed that the former Bologna ace will miss the Europa League quarter-final second leg tie this coming Thursday which means the Denmark international is the only recognised centre-forward at the coach’s disposal.
New striker needed
The 22-year-old has managed a meagre three Premier League goals all season and the Portuguese tactician wants him gone in the summer with Juventus open to a loan deal.
The Red Devils will need a quality replacement but with their budget tight and Champions League qualification still hanging in the balance, a move for Viktor Gyokeres seems unlikely.
Victor Osimhen’s wages could be a stumbling block while Liam Delap prefers a move to a Champions League club. With the club running out of options, CaughtOffside have claimed that the 20-time English league champions could go after Juve’s Dusan Vlahovic.
The Serbian, who won the Best Striker of Serie A award last summer, has 14 goals in all competitions as well as five assists, not his most prolific season.
On top of that his current deal expires in 2026 and so far, all attempts from the Bianconeri to extend his deal have failed as they do not want to continue paying the Serbian’s current wages of €373,846 gross per week (via capology).
The Turin-based outfit had signed the former Fiorentina man for €83.5 million back in 2022 and are looking to sell for around €50 million in the summer.
And as per the report, English clubs such as United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle are all interested and are ready to pay €45 million to land the Serbia international.
Vlahovic an option
“Dusan Vlahovic remains one of the most talked-about players ahead of the summer transfer window. The player’s salary, signing bonuses and gross earnings of €23 million per season have complicated Juventus’ economic planning. Under these circumstances, the club is open to the idea of disposing of the player before his contract expires in 2026.
“Sources have revealed to CaughtOffside that Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Newcastle United are seriously interested in Vlahovic. In addition, European giants such as Barcelona and Bayern Munich have also put Vlahovic on their radar.
“Sources indicate that Premier League clubs could submit offers of around €45 million for the Serbian striker.”
Vlahovic has never truly captured the form he had shown at Fiorentina since his move to Turin and the lack of minutes this season have not helped. A change is scenery would do him a world of good.
United had tried for him in January as well and whether INEOS opt for him in the summer remains to be seen. He is not Premier League-proven but would cost a lot less than Gyokeres or Osimhen.
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
