Manchester United have made a new striker signing a priority this summer and are already shortlisting their targets. 

United allowed Cristiano Ronaldo to leave Old Trafford earlier this season and then signed Wout Weghorst, who is yet to score a Premier League goal for the club.

Erik ten Hag’s side have been credited with an interest in plenty of strikers in recent months and are reportedly willing to spend a lot of money on a new No.9.

We’ve taken a look at six strikers that have been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford to see how they compare in 2022/23.

Note: Appearance, goal and assist stats are from all club competitions in 2022/23 and international appearances haven’t been taken into account.

Harry Kane

Games: 47
Starts: 46
Sub appearances: 1

Goals: 29
Assists: 4
Penalties scored: 6

Minutes per goal: 142.1
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 179.2
Minutes per goal or assist: 121.2

Shots per 90 mins in the Premier League: 3.4
Key passes per 90 mins in the Premier League: 1.5
Successful dribbles per 90 mins in the Premier League: 1.1

While Tottenham will be desperate to do whatever it takes to keep Kane at the club this summer, he faces an increasingly uncertain future in north London after entering the final 15 months of his contract.

According to reports, Ten Hag has earmarked Kane as United’s primary target in the search for a new striker and it’s not hard to see why.

The 29-year-old has scored 27 goals in the Premier League this season, making him the second-highest scorer in the competition after Manchester City’s Erling Haaland.

“If I’m Manchester United I’ll go with Harry Kane because he knows the Premier League,” Thierry Henry said on CBS. “That doesn’t mean (Victor) Osimhen is a bad player but Kane doesn’t need to adapt to anything.”

But Kane has had less success in other competitions in 2022/23, netting just one goal in the Champions League and one goal in the FA Cup before Spurs were knocked out.

Victor Osimhen

Games: 36
Starts: 32
Sub appearances: 4

Goals: 28
Assists: 5
Penalties scored: 0

Minutes per goal: 100.3
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 100.3
Minutes per goal or assist: 85.1

Shots per 90 mins in Serie A: 4.6
Key passes per 90 mins in Serie A: 1.1
Successful dribbles per 90 mins in Serie A: 0.9

Osimhen has become one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe after his 23 league goals helped secure Napoli’s first Serie A title since 1990.

He also scored five goals in six Champions League appearances before Napoli were knocked out by AC Milan at the quarter-final stage.

The fact that Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is Napoli’s designated penalty taker makes Osimhen’s goalscoring record even more impressive.

Gianluca Di Marzio has confirmed that United are targeting the 24-year-old but they could face competition from Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, who have been also been credited with interest.

Unsurprising, Napoli want to keep their talisman at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium and any interested parties will reportedly have to fork out €120m for Osimhen.

Ramus Hojlund

Games: 39
Starts: 24
Sub appearances: 15

Goals: 14
Assists: 6
Penalties scored: 0

Minutes per goal: 163.7
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 163.7
Minutes per goal or assist: 114.6

Shots per 90 mins in Serie A: 2.5
Key passes per 90 mins in Serie A: 1.3
Successful dribbles per 90 mins in Serie A: 1.4

Hojlund started his 2022/23 season at Austrian side Sturm Graz before joining Atalanta in August in a deal worth a reported €17m.

He’s since registered 10 direct goal contributions in Serie A and his combination of pace and power has seen him compared to Erling Haaland.

The 20-year-old also shot to international prominence in March 2023 by scoring a total of five goals in his first two starts for Denmark.

According to The Times, United want two strikers in the summer and a talented prospect like Hojlund could be signed alongside a more marquee name.

Dusan Vlahovic

Games: 41
Starts: 33
Sub appearances: 8

Goals: 14
Assists: 4
Penalties scored: 3

Minutes per goal: 203.9
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 259.5
Minutes per goal or assist: 158.6

Shots per 90 mins in Serie A: 3.1
Key passes per 90 mins in Serie A: 1.0
Successful dribbles per 90 mins in Serie A: 0.6

Vlahovic shot to prominence during his three-and-a-half-year spell with Fiorentina and was linked with several Premier League clubs in the 2022 winter transfer window before ultimately joining Juventus in a deal worth around £63m.

But the Serbia international has struggled to replicate his best form in Turin and has netted just eight non-penalty goals in Serie A this season.

In Vlahovic’s defence, Massimiliano Allegri’s defensive system often leaves him isolated up front and a move away could help him return to the form and promise he showed in Florence.

According to the Daily Telegraph, United have been monitoring his situation and Juventus appear ready to cash in on the 23-year-old striker.

Goncalo Ramos

Games: 45
Starts: 44
Sub appearances: 1

Goals: 26
Assists: 12
Penalties scored: 0

Minutes per goal: 128.6
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 128.6
Minutes per goal or assist: 88

Shots per 90 mins in the Primeira Liga: 3.8
Key passes per 90 mins in Primeira Liga: 0.7
Successful dribbles per 90 mins in Primeira Liga: 0.7

Since Darwin Nunez left Benfica to join Liverpool in an £85m deal last summer, Ramos has stepped up to fill the void left by his departure.

He has scored 18 times and created seven more in 28 Primeira Liga matches this season, helping Benfica establish a four-point lead at the top of the table.

Alongside his goalscoring exploits, the Portugal international has also impressed with his link-up play and pressing ability.

“Increasingly, more is asked of a spearhead to be more complete,” Ramos said in September 2022. “People thought that a striker is only there to score goals and the rest doesn’t matter, but I think that over the last few years that image is disappearing a little bit.

“It is increasingly important for a striker to be more in the game and contribute more to the team, to connect the game, to put pressure on. Often with movements in which you end up in another position and ask for another type of task.”

According to the Manchester Evening News, Ten Hag is a big admirer of the 21-year-old but the Benfica hierarchy are known to be tough negotiators and they insist that Ramos will not be sold unless his €120m release clause is met.

Randal Kolo Muani

Games: 43
Starts: 40
Sub appearances: 3

Goals: 22
Assists: 15
Penalties scored: 3

Minutes per goal: 153.1
Minutes per non-penalty goal: 177.3
Minutes per goal or assist: 91.05

Shots per 90 mins in the Bundesliga: 2.5
Key passes per 90 mins in the Bundesliga: 1.4
Successful dribbles per 90 mins in the Bundesliga: 2.3

Muani joined Eintracht Frankfurt on a free transfer last summer and his move to Germany has taken his game to a whole new level.

He has had a hand in more Bundesliga goals than any other player in 2022/23 after scoring 14 goals himself and setting up 12 goals for his teammates.

The 24-year-old also got two goals in the Champions League group stages while registering six goals and three assists in the DFB-Pokal.

The versatile centre-forward is renowned for his blistering pace and dribbling ability and has been compared to former France and Arsenal star Thierry Henry.

According to Sport Bild, Muani’s rapid rise has caught the attention of United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain but it’ll take a bid in excess of £88m to secure his services.

READ MORE: Five loan players that could be in the Manchester United first team next season: Amad, Henderson…

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