Ruben Amorim has already shown he can fix Man United problem identified by Ruud van Nistelrooy

An investment of £100m in strikers has so far yielded three goals in 1,250 minutes for Manchester United this season. It doesn't need to be said that kind of return isn't going to bring success back to Old Trafford anytime soon.

Joshua Zirkzee opened his account on his debut after a £35m move from Bologna but hasn't scored in 15 appearances since. Rasmus Hojlund has two goals in 11 games but currently looks short on confidence and form.

The lack of goals is perhaps the primary reason why United lie 13th in the Premier League and 15th in the Europa League this season. In Ruud van Nistelrooy's final game as caretaker boss, they will seek to improve a tally of nine goals in 10 league fixture when they welcome Leicester City to Old Trafford.

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The Dutchman is still waiting to see whether he is kept on under Ruben Amorim, but there is merit in asking him to stay and pass on some advice to Hojlund, 21, and Zirkzee, 23. Van Nistelrooy scored 150 goals in 219 games during his spell for United.

He was also honest on Friday when he accepted that the club needs a proven goalscorer if it is to return to its glory days. Hojlund and Zirkzee have only shown flashes of potential so far.

"Yeah, I agree that when you want to be a successful side in the Premier League and in Europe - and that is what the build is all about - you're going to need a certain amount of goals," Van Nistelrooy said. "That is clear, that is the effects in football.

"And that's why the best teams in the world have those players. At the moment, we have players who get a certain amount of goals or assists but, obviously, they are in an age where they still have to be developed and there is the potential they will be and the belief is there that they can. And that is this moment where we are."

The final seven months of this season will condition Amorim's thinking about United's plans for the centre-forward position. With Victor Gyokeres likely to be available next summer for £63m, he could push the club to move for a striker he has played a major role in developing in Portugal.

The 26-year-old has scored 66 goals in 67 games since moving to Lisbon, and he has scored 23 goals in just 17 games this season, including a hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League rout in midweek.

Part of the reason Gyokeres opted for Sporting when he left Coventry City in 2023 was because of Amorim's sales pitch and his track record in developing and improving players. After 38 goals in 91 Championship games, he has gone up several levels under Amorim in little more than a year together.

"People probably don't know, but there were eight clubs very interested in Viktor last summer," said Hasan Cetinkaya, Gyokeres' agent, in April 2024. "Everyone paid Coventry more than Sporting, everyone paid Viktor more, everyone paid a higher commission to the agent

"What happened? I brought him to Sporting. And I brought him to Sporting because of Ruben Amorim, because I know his work and his work with the players. I chose Ruben because he is a coach at another level."

So while there will be a temptation to try and reunite that pair in Manchester, there is also a chance that Amorim can have a similar impact on United's current strikers, particularly Hojlund.

The Dane is a similar profile to Gyokeres in terms of his speed and physicality and he has shown more glimpses than Zirkzee of having the potential to go up a level or two.

If United's strikers continue to average a goal every 416 minutes this season, then Gyokeres will quickly rise to the top of the transfer wishlist for next summer. But if Amorim can repeat his Midas touch with Hojlund, then the need for another No. 9 might ease between now and the end of the season.