Ten Hag gives Man Utd transfer ultimatum, as £100m deal handed deadline to promote title charge
Erik ten Hag has told Manchester United when he would like the club to sign a new striker amid links with several goalscorers, according to a report.
Man Utd’s current centre-forward is Wout Weghorst, who is on loan from Burnley. With Anthony Martial out injured and Marcus Rashford tending to operate on the left flank, Weghorst has started most of Man Utd’s recent games.
The 30-year-old has impressed Ten Hag through his work ethic and good link-up play. However, his goalscoring tally leaves a lot to be desired.
Weghorst has found the back of the net just twice in 18 Man Utd appearances so far. While he could improve on these numbers after the international break, it is clear that Ten Hag needs a more prolific attacker to lead his forward line for next season.
Tottenham talisman Harry Kane is high up in Ten Hag’s thinking. Spurs will once again end the season without any silverware, while they are also looking for a new manager after sacking Antonio Conte.
If Spurs fail to show enough ambition when appointing Conte’s replacement, then Kane could push for an exit. And Man Utd will be ready to submit a huge £100m bid if this happens – but it remains to be seen if this will be enough to convince Daniel Levy to sell.
Napoli’s Victor Osimhen is another in-form striker who will cost Man Utd around the £100m mark. He has admitted he dreams of playing in the Premier League, although Man Utd will have to put in some serious work to get Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis to agree on a departure.
If moves for those two players fall through, then Benfica’s Goncalo Ramos could be targeted instead. The Portuguese press are reporting that he is ‘very disappointed’ with Benfica as they have taken an age to sort his new contract. And this could give Man Utd a huge helping hand in their push to sign him.
Update on Man Utd takeover and striker plans
ESPN have provided a report which looks at the Man Utd takeover situation, which also includes an interesting bit of information about Ten Hag’s transfer plans.
It begins by stating that the revised bids from Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani have come in at around £4.5billion. This is below the Glazer family’s £6bn valuation. Although, there is still hope the change of ownership will go through.
Man Utd staff have been told to expect ‘clarity’ on the situation by the end of the campaign.
Ten Hag in particular will be eagerly awaiting the outcome of the takeover race. He has told club chiefs he wants a ‘top-class striker’ to arrive at Old Trafford before the pre-season tour of the USA, which begins in July.
Ten Hag believes this will leave plenty of time for the new attacker to get his bearings at Man Utd and start to form a good partnership with the likes of Rashford and Bruno Fernandes.
This in turn will give Man Utd the best possible chance of competing with the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City for next season’s Premier League title.
However, spending around £100m on one player is a huge decision and it will not happen until the ownership situation is resolved. Ten Hag will be desperate for the Glazers to sell Man Utd sooner rather than later so he can get his summer transfer plans underway.
Meanwhile, Man Utd have ended their interest in a Premier League star following one of his recent performances, giving Spurs and Chelsea a good chance to complete a deal.
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