3 strikers Manchester United missed out on the in January transfer window

Manchester United’s quest for a striker should have begun last summer when the Red Devils allowed both Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku to leave the club. Instead, the club allowed both players to leave without bringing in replacements. The Chilean will be back at Old Trafford at the end of the season when his loan deal expires, but the Belgian’s departure caught United red-faced in the middle of the season.

The Red Devils decided not to replace Lukaku, with Ole Gunnar Solskjær preferring to trust the trio of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood to come up with the goals. However, while Rashford has been superb, his injured laid bare United’s lack of back-up in the attacking line.

In such a scenario, January represented an opportunity for Solskjær to rectify the mistake of the summer. Manchester United were linked with a host of goalscorers for the entire span of the month but failed to lure any big name to Old Trafford by the end of the transfer window.

Instead, the Red Devils opted for Odion Ighalo as a failsafe option, a move that does come with a degree of risk. But who are the top 3 strikers United missed out on in January? Read on to find out

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#3. Edinson Cavani

Edinson Cavani

Manchester United have been tracking Edinson Cavani for quite some time and there have been unconfirmed reports that the Uruguayan was eager to play in the Premier League too. Because United were missing a true goalscorer of his caliber, it was only natural that by the start of January, United were linked with the Uruguayan once again.

The fact that Cavani was on the final 6 months of his contract with the French champions at that time did give United fans a lot of hope. However, it was Atlético Madrid who submitted an official bid for the player, which was ultimately rejected by PSG.

The La Liga side are expected to return in the summer and get their man for free. As such, it is clear that the month of January was an opportunity for the Red Devils to steal a march on their rivals. Cavani would have been a fantastic player to lead the line for the Red Devils and his experience would have been priceless for the young strikers in the squad.

Unfortunately, United failed to convince the Uruguayan to come to Old Trafford. Cavani apparently has his heart set on a move to Spain and it is highly unlikely that the Red Devils will secure his signature in the summer.

#2. Moussa Dembélé

Moussa Dembele

The Frenchman has been in fine form for Lyon for the past few seasons and has scored 18 times from 33 appearances already this time. Manchester United were competing with Chelsea for Dembele’s signature in January, but a deal never materialised, even though on paper, the Frenchman was perfect for United.

At just 23 years old, Dembele was exactly the kind of player United had targeted under Solskjær. The Frenchman also had the experience of playing in England, joining Fulham at the age of 16 and making his debut for the club in the 2013/14 season. He went on to make 64 appearances for the Cottagers, scoring 19 goals, before joining Celtic in the summer of 2016. Dembele left the Hoops after scoring 51 times in 94 appearances and joined Lyon 2 seasons ago.

At the start of January this year, there were reports that United and Chelsea were in touch with Lyon, as both sides attempted to land Dembele. However, the Ligue 1 side were reluctant that they would not let their star player leave. Chelsea ultimately ended the month without any additions to the squad, while United also failed in their pursuit of Dembele.

#1. Erling Haaland

Erling Haaland

Manchester United’s biggest regret of the winter, and perhaps of the season too, will be that they failed to convince Erling Haaland to join the club. The Norwegian’s future had been the talk of the town since the start of the season after his goalscoring antics made him the new darling of European football. Haaland was one of the most sought after young talents in the world before the start of the transfer window and Manchester United were actually among the favourites to land him.

The biggest advantage United had was that the Norwegian had worked under Solskjær during his time at Molde and the pair knew each other very well. Speculations were ripe that the United manager would coax his countryman to join the Red Devils and United fans had every right to be excited about the youngster joining the club.

Haaland had everything United needed in a striker; he was young, he was fast, he had a high tempo style of play and he could score goals. However, United were beaten to his signature by Borussia Dortmund, who managed to win over the Norwegian with their future plans. Since making the move to the Bundesliga, Haaland has hit an even higher level and is on another record-breaking spree. United fans, however, can only look back in disarray at the one that got away.

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