A meagre four Premier League goals in the whole of last season for Rasmus Hojlund proved to Ruben Amorim that the Dane was simply not good enough to lead the line for Manchester United on his own.
Despite the 22-year-old’s desire to stay and fight for his place, INEOS ruthlessly cast him aside, with the Denmark international joining Napoli on loan.
He is expected to join them permanently, given the kind of start he has enjoyed for the defending Serie A champions.
The co-owners decided to splurge big to land Benjamin Sesko as his replacement, and the Slovenian now has back-to-back Premier League goals and is showing signs that he is the perfect striker to play up front for the Red Devils.
Zirkzee lack of minutes
The former RB Leipzig star’s superb form has meant hardly any minutes for Joshua Zirkzee, who is contemplating leaving in January, with Serie A and English top-flight outfits chasing his signature.
INEOS are expected to hold talks with him to convince him to stay, while Amorim also does not want the Dutchman to leave.
But should he continue to get overlooked, the 24-year-old will look to leave once the transfer window reopens as he looks to regain his place in the Netherlands national team ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
In that case, the Red Devils will look to recruit someone as a replacement and Talksport have suggested that Ivan Toney, currently playing for Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League, could be the chosen alternative.
The Englishman has been on fire for his club, netting eight times in 10 games this term, while in the previous campaign, he found the back of the net 30 times.
Toney eyeing January loan
Ivan Toney remains intent on winning back his place in the England national team for the World Cup, and a short-term loan deal makes a lot of sense.
While no discussions are advanced at this stage, the 20-time English league champions could see Tottenham Hotspur join them in the race.
Thomas Frank, who is the current Spurs boss, was the 29-year-old’s manager during his time at Brentford, and a reunion could be on the cards.
“What’s going to be really interesting in the next few months is, will Thomas Tuchel tell Ivan Toney definitively, ‘By being in Saudi, you’re further down the pecking order’?,” journalist Ben Jacobs said.
“And Toney’s aspiration is to play in the World Cup. Plus the fact the way the calendar falls, there’s a Ramadan break and that is in the months, at the moment, of February through to mid-March.
United could pounce if Zirkzee leaves
“It wouldn’t actually be a bad idea for players that want to stay sharp, to do a half-season loan, and then maybe even go back to Saudi Arabia. There’ll be interest in Ivan Toney.
“Al Ahli sources say they don’t want to sell, there’s a brand new sporting director there and he doesn’t want to let Ivan Toney go. And then as far as Premier League interest, I think we’ve heard links with Tottenham due to the Thomas Frank connection.
“I’m not aware of any Spurs approach at this stage, some have even said Manchester United, and again, I think Manchester United are banking on Benjamin Sesko and they’ve also got Matheus Cunha, who can play at No.9.
“But if Joshua Zirkzee left, you never know, another striker could come in at Old Trafford but at the moment, it’s all quiet as far as a Premier League return is concerned.”
An experienced backup for Sesko would mean less pressure on the Slovenia international, but Toney’s wages would prove to be a major hurdle. And midfield seems to be the area in the most urgent need of reinforcements. INEOS also don’t want to lose Zirkzee. An interesting January window awaits for United.
Feature image Yasser Bakhsh via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
