Aug 29
Now, Which Striker Is United Material?
It has been rumoured that Fergie has been looking at a few strikers recently, but with the recent announcement of Ole Solskjaer’s immediate retirement, United are left short of quality frontmen and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the great Scot make one more visit to the transfer market before September 1st.
Currently, our 3 main strikers are Wayne Rooney, Louis Saha and Carlos Tevez. But if you look at other top Premiership clubs, it becomes clear that 4 strikers are the ideal.
Here’s what the other top clubs’ strike force look like:
Arsenal
Adebayor, van Persie, Eduardo, Bendtner
Chelski
Drogba, Shevchenko, Pizarro, Kalou
Liverpool
Torres, Kuyt, Voronin, Crouch
Tottenham
Berbatov, Keane, Bent, Defoe
Everton
Johnson, Yakubu, Anichebe, Vaughan
So with the clock ticking, who could be in with a chance of joining the Old Trafford clan?
Dimitar Berbatov
I personally think that Berbatov is top of the manager’s list. He may not be the ruthless out and out goalscorer the fans are craving, but he has shown he can integrate with a fellow striker almost seamlessly with his wide array of deft touches and flick-ons.
Going out on a limb I’d say Berbatov is currently the best player in the Premier League. He seems to have that magic aura about him that sends shivers down the spines of even the toughest defenders. Berbatov would definitely be the best addition in my opinion but I reckon the chances of him joining in the summer window are zero, especially after his recent pledge to the cause at White Hart Lane.
Abdul Salam-Bilal
No I’m not having a laugh. He is an outrageously talented player with lots of premiership experience, he’s just more commonly known as Nicolas Anelka. In contrast to Berbatov, he is the ruthless out and out goalscorer that the fans are craving, but as everyone knows he does have a history of being a volatile character.
It remains to be seen if the manager is prepared to take that risk, but he certainly has ‘controlling arrogant Frenchmen’ down to a T and the relatively small price of £9m could be tempting.
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
One we’ve been linked with before, Huntelaar is a Dutchman with an outstanding scoring record in Holland (déjà vu anyone?). As a player he is quite similar in style to Fernando Torres with good height and pace, but he is yet to prove himself on the truly big stage.
I think Fergie may have been thinking of him as a future purchase once he could be more certain about his abilities, but he could well be rushed into buying the youngster sooner than expected.
Jermaine Defoe
Another we’ve been linked with in the past, Defoe is a truly different player to the above 3. From his point of view, this could be a great opportunity to force his way into the England team as a pairing with Wayne Rooney. He has fantastic pace and sharp shooting ability.
It makes me proud that United have a strong core of UK players and adding Defoe would stick to that policy. He is yet to sign a contract extension at Spurs meaning he could be available for a significantly reduced fee if Fergie was to move now.
Adriano Leite Ribeiro
The burly brazilian centre-forward has already found the net at Old Trafford this season with a thunderbolt header. Too bad it was an own-goal then.
He seems to be on the way out of the San Siro if the reported asking price of £10m is met, but I don’t think there is any need for excitement here. Despite having a pneumatic drill of a left foot (one that puts John Arne Riise to shame) Adriano is nothing more than a cumbersome oaf on the pitch. He’s also the most one-footed player I’ve ever seen and for a Brazilian that’s just blasphemy. Even Patrice Evra (the second most one-footed player I’ve ever seen) can control the ball with his right foot.
I’d love to say that there was no chance of him coming to Old Trafford, but you just never know these days. Fingers crossed some ‘Reject FC’ like West Ham decide to splash the cash on him while we all sit back and giggle.
Well that’s my roundup of possible targets, feel free to add any more in the comments. I guess all we can do now is wait and see what’s in store as the next 3 days unfold.
My fingers are crossed Fergie shocks us all with another £1.5m signing from a small Scandinavian club.
Related items from Red Rants:
August 29th, 2007 at 10:49
fergie should look at jo from cska. he would be cheap and is very young so would not demand first team football all the time. he is tall fast and strong and has good finishing and heading ability
August 29th, 2007 at 10:51
u guys remember when fergie said we went for a stricker recently and the team involved said he wasn’t for sale? i beleive that was for a stricker nobody has mentionned here and in the media, benni mccarthy! i wouldn;t be disappointed if we can prise him away from blackburn. out and out stricker and good in the air, champions league experience,…. if we make a very good offer of say 8 mil, i think blackburn will sell… what do u guys think?
August 29th, 2007 at 11:01
want be a bad signing but i think Klaas-Jan Huntelaar would be a great signing for us, young talent who can score goes. i say we go for him what do u guys think of him
August 29th, 2007 at 11:11
Of course berbatov is our number one choice. He was amazing at the weekend. But maybe next season.
I think its between huntalaar and anelka, huntalaar is uproven and probably cost more than anelka, but then again anelka’s attitude sucks sometimes, but you never know he may come good if he realises this maybe his last chance for the big time. Either of these two would do for me.
Defoe good but too short. Adriano good but too fat. Though his own goat at OT was a blinder, made me laugh.
Not sure about McCarthy…
August 29th, 2007 at 11:22
I think matt derbyshire would be a good signing.he would be cheap,relatively easy to get and he would be happy on the bench.what is more,he is a good finisher and has proven he can score goals in the premier league
August 29th, 2007 at 11:29
8 mil? r u kidding? seriously? darren bent scored less than mccarthy AND was at a smaller club than blackburn went for 16.5 mil (put aside the fact that bent’s english and won’t be affected by the ANC). Benni seems like a good player (actually, i hvn’t seen very much of him, so i wonder if he fits the bill). judging at the premium price english club seems to be paying for players, i’d say benni is at least worth 12mil
August 29th, 2007 at 11:42
Nicolas Anelka would be absolutely perfect for us. He can lead the line, makes great runs to create space for others, good in the air and on the deck. Above all, he is a finisher. £10 million-ish, Sir Fergie needs to sign him up ASAP!
August 29th, 2007 at 11:43
Well fergie must been sceptic about
giving a chance to dongdong but i think
that we hav to give up of having a new
striker, fergie knew bout ole last week
and still said that wer not chasing
strikers… But i would opt Asamoah of
Udinese or Benni.. But fergie s gonna
put Anderson and Oshea as strikers..
August 29th, 2007 at 11:49
Ah speaking about one footed players… How could you forget about Reyes Lol
August 29th, 2007 at 11:51
Fabio Quagliarella would fit the bill perfectly… Dunno why we didn’t sign him…
August 29th, 2007 at 11:51
yeah i think mccarthy can be a good striker. he once stated that he would love to play for united and the prospects of playing in the champs league can be very tempting.
I have read on the internet today that united still chasing for berbatov, and ‘it is he who wants to join united’. but the apparent 23 million asking price might put fergie off. Abdul guy , never had of him but if he is good as you say he is am sure fergie would not have problems in taming is temper, no offence to rooney but he (ron)had similar problems.huntelaar mmmmmm….. cant really comment. I think ajax would clinge on him after loosing babel and wesley. What about Kevin Kuranyi . still young and looked ruthless against England and have a relatively good srike rate. but chances are near zero to acquire him. But you never know fergie he might acquire a striker from quaters that have never crossed your mind. he has scouts all over
in a totally unrelated story, am sure you guys have heard that Antonio Puerta of Sevilla died. It is a sad day to football and especially la liga fans like me. may God rest his soul in eternal peace(let it not spoil your day)
August 29th, 2007 at 11:55
oh damn i read too fast, didnt know abdul was anelka.sorry guys
August 29th, 2007 at 12:11
Fergies too arogant to go and buy some1 in last minute he knows he made a blunder by letting rossi go or heck even smith go and now buying a new striker will prove that so he’ll stick to his word and probabaly use anderson /scholes/giggs/oshea in a strikers place till jan
And if we have a full squad like rooney tevez saha anderson by jan he’ll not bring any1 till next summer and then berbatov or any other big name
August 29th, 2007 at 12:21
Any one from Adriano, Bebertov or Anelka will do.
August 29th, 2007 at 12:26
i reckon klass jan huuntelaar is the man for us. hes the best finisher out of the options n hes particularly good in the air. good professional attitude n hes ready to explode on the scene.
August 29th, 2007 at 12:31
I sense an emergency loan deal coming on, remember Henrik?
Don’t be surprised if it’s Adriano on a 6 month sabbatical. I know he is turning down loan options at present but to Utd? I think not.
Also in terms of other clubs front 4, you’d have to put the Toons up with the best - MARTINS - OWEN - VIDUKA - SMITH
August 29th, 2007 at 12:32
With all the talk of club loyalties, typified by ole leaving, and the lack of them, (heinze, anyone?) i believe that Anelka having played for nearly ALL of our premier league rivals without ever staying put for very long, is out of the question. Huntelaar is a good, perhaps great player and hes easily good enough to be a 4th choice striker, and as indicated above, other squad’s 4th choices are all of equal or lesser quality.
August 29th, 2007 at 12:51
Its clear United need a striker..and its easier to dismiss some .. Defoe-no way, too small cant get in Spurs team! Berbatov-looks ok but seems like too pricey with background baggage, Rossi - why did United sell? Anelka- sulky .will probably geta Saha like headache.. so who can United get to score 15 goals, can head the ball..can lead the line?..its totally obvious but seemingly blind to United.. Benni McCarthy.. just spend the money now!
August 29th, 2007 at 13:14
huntelaar played for ajax in the UCL third round….. doesnt that make him cup bound???
August 29th, 2007 at 13:23
good point SAMG, if huntelaar is “cup bound”, forget it!! we can’t spend that kind of money on someone and not be able to play him all year in the champions league
JAMES, good point with adriano on a loan for a year, if we can;t get anyone else that’s up to the task, why not try him
August 29th, 2007 at 13:57
I wan Ibrahimovic….He is the suitable striker for United nowadays……Js buy him and Rooney be substitute…..
August 29th, 2007 at 14:06
i say we get larrson who cares about his age his world class. only joking but i like we need a player with a lot of experience, or if you want young player we need one who has proved themself at the highest level
August 29th, 2007 at 14:31
i wud like to see anelka come.
on fire, good finisher and relativly cheap. fergie can turn him into half a cantona (no one can be THAT good)
August 29th, 2007 at 14:46
Gudjohnsen might not cost 1.5m but he’s from the Scandinavian too, innit?
August 29th, 2007 at 15:12
We need one more striker, not a Tevez sort but a finisher like, er, how about Rossi. We should be able to get him for a good price, Doh!
Never seen Huntelaar play.
Berbatov, too expensive.
Adriano seems to have lost the plot.
Defoe is too inconsistent
Much as I hate to say it Sulky Boy at £9M seems the best bet.
Oh, and the most one footed footballer ever is Juan Sebastian Veron. By a Mile!!
August 29th, 2007 at 16:22
Adriano is far more one footed than Veron ever was (although it is a hell of a foot). I would go as far as to say if you cut off Adriano’s right foot you would only notice when he tipped over in the wind!
Onto the transfer targets, given there are only a couple of days left this transfer window I would say any moves for Huntelaar and Berbatov are off since both deals would be complicated with Ajax and Spurs reticent to sell. Defoe would weigh in at 12m and fails to offer any physical presence up top. Adriano has the problem of suffering chronic bad form and party boy lifestyle for the last 2 years. Benni would cost £10m which would be better spent on Anelka who would bring more to the table. Anelka strikes me as a negotiation that could be wrapped up more quickly than any of the others and in the current situation time is the most valuable commodity.
P.S. Kevin Kuranyi is actually quite a good shout although I haven’t a clue what his availability is like.
August 29th, 2007 at 17:12
I think Berbatov is Fergie’s first choice. If we can’t get him now, don’t see the point of paying big money for second choice.
How about going for someone young and promising who gives us something different. - Leroy Lita for example, Pace, Power decent in the air, English and would be happy to sit on the bench when all the other strikers are fit. He was player of the tournament in the summer Euro U21 tournament
August 29th, 2007 at 17:45
I thing that Ruud van nistelrooy must come back to manchester sir
alex know this now !
August 29th, 2007 at 19:57
What i think Fergie dont want to go with stop gaps and wants players with good experience, quality and who have proven themselves in the big stage. This is for champions league. Berbatov,Torres,Tevez are all of this mould.So i dont see him going for anything less than that. Its better not to spend money if you dont have time to spend it wisely. Fergie will cover up with anderson as a striker as he is more of a goalscoring midfielder.
August 29th, 2007 at 21:41
here is a name that hasn’t come up how about Afonso Alves, not bad from what ive sore. but i would love Klaas-Jan Huntelaar at united he would be my first choice
August 29th, 2007 at 22:55
adriano was seen as a huge player in world football the king of internazionale but for some reason he has had a huge dip in form for, lets face it a long time now dont know what hapened to him maybe he just needs another big stage. who knows? but 1 thing I would like to point out to all those people who doubt the fans king of internazionale is that quality will not be hidden for long he was an unstopable player when he was younger he has been linked with practically all the big clubs, if he were to com to manutd, as much as it pains me to say, he wouldnt fit in, simply because he doesnt react well, in my opinion to competition, maybe a club with a lack of quality strikers and a thurst for a hero which manutd have already got. klaas or berba would be the only 2 people tht reli would fit into the squad at this point in time and no way to anelka and this random bilal guy klaas and berba both offer a totallly diferent atacking threat which is what i think we lack at the moment variety we seem to run out of ideas lately however i dont think it will effect us for long
August 29th, 2007 at 23:14
Shera: As I said in another post any player can have a bad game. In fact I would go as far as to say any player can have a bad season, for a variety of reasons. But when the bad form stretches into 2/3 years then there is a very serious possibility that the old player will never reappear. In his hey day Adriano had a left foot matched only by Recoba, in terms of power and strength he made Drogba look weak and had a goal ratio better than one every other game. I’m not convinced that player is still in there though.
August 29th, 2007 at 23:29
Vagner Love- Cska Moscow prob around 5-10 mil
quality player, brazilian international
August 30th, 2007 at 1:14
I find it strange that nobody has mentioned Martins. This guy would be a chea, and fantastic addition to our squad. He’s not the strongest in the air, but we aren’t servicing the forwards we do have well enough to justify buying a tall striker. The fact is that he can get behind players, has amazing pace, strikes the ball very, very well, and plays with a level of ambition that we’ve been lacking so far this season. Martins can create his own space and attack from the center of the pitch. We are struggling badly in the center of the pitch so far this season. I think he’s the best choice out there.
August 30th, 2007 at 2:16
Huntelaar is the man. Now that Ajax have been knocked out of the Champions League, I think United may actually have a shot at getting him. One of the reasons he decided to stay with Ajax this season was because they were going to be in the CL. Well they took their opponents too lightly and now they are finished. Both he and Ajax may be willing to talk now, if the money is right.
August 30th, 2007 at 11:14
We can knock Anelka off the list he has reportedly signed a contract extension at Bolton, no link as of yet.
Grognard: One problem with Huntelaar now, he’s cup tied.
August 30th, 2007 at 11:39
Agree with IL re Martins and in particular his speed.
Watching Utd against Spurs the lack of pace up front was excruciating at times. Theres only really Ronaldo who you would say was genuinely quick.
And whilst on the subject - Has Tevez always been that slow? I know he had a crap summer etc but …..
So I’d say whoever it is ‘Young and Fast’ brings something different to the party , especially as they likely to be coming on as a sub a lot of the time.
August 30th, 2007 at 11:42
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_2695228,00.html
Wow! ‘Le Sulk’ and ‘club loyalty’ not usually two expressions you’d find in the same sentence!
Such lack of ambition ….. lol
August 30th, 2007 at 16:37
JB
Huntelaar may be cup tied but as I see it, that extra striker we need is far more useful to us in the long marathon that is the EPL. Besides, we also need him now more than later. I also read back a couple of weeks ago that Henrik Larsson might consider a return to the EPL. He may not be our perfect choice to fill the void, but at this point I’d take Dwight Yorke or Andy Cole for the sake of depth.
September 23rd, 2007 at 12:52
man utd are so bad anyway. i am a manutd fan, but fergie is such an idiot he cant even sign good players. HE LET RONALDINHO SLIP AND MESSI SLIP!!!! My uncle works as a scout for Man utd and he scouted both of them, but SAF didnt go for them!!! what an idiot
October 24th, 2007 at 13:54
manutd need a playmaker&also need a freekicker.riquelme is now free.now,he is the best playmaker in the world.so,why not manu go for him?sir fergie absolutely a foolish guy.