Manchester United will target Randal Kolo Muani and Rasmus Hojlund if they fail to sign Tottenham striker Harry Kane this summer.
Kane, 29, is Erik ten Hag's first-choice transfer target. Untied are set to launch an £80million bid when the window opens, but Spurs chair Daniel Levy is known for being a tough negotiator. As such, Kane's move to Old Trafford is not being taken for granted.
Kolo Muani, 24, was part of France's squad for the World Cup in Qatar - famously being denied by Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is the dying seconds of their final defeat - while Hojlund, 20, has been compared to Manchester City hitman Erling Haaland.
United are desperate for a new striker after Cristiano Ronaldo's contract was terminated by mutual consent in November. Wout Weghorst was signed on loan from Burnley in January, but the Dutchman is yet to score in the Premier League for United.
That has led Ten Hag to draw up a transfer shortlist. As reported by the Manchester Evening News, Kolo Muani is on that list. The France international has become a regular for his country and is enjoying a fine season at Europa League holders Eintracht Frankfurt.
Kolo Muani has burst onto the scene since his free transfer from Nantes last summer. He has scored 16 goals and provided 14 assists for Frankfurt this term, proving there is more to his game than finding the back of the net. He is valued at £57.2m by Transfermarkt.
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Hojlund is more of an unknown quantity. The Dane has scored 14 club goals for Atalanta and former side Sturm Graz this season, but it's his form at international level which has caught the eye. He hit five goals during the recent international break.
Hojlund, who cost Atalanta around £15m, is valued at £30.8m by Transfermarkt. Yet neither Frankfurt nor Atalanta are under pressure to sell due to both players being contracted until June 2027. Other clubs will also be interested in Holjund and Kolo Muani.
United will need to break the bank for whoever they sign this summer. Although Kane will turn 30 in July, he would be an almost guaranteed source of goals for Ten Hag's side. The forward has recently become England's and Tottenham's record scorer.
Kane has spent his entire career at Tottenham - apart from a few loan spells here and there - but has never won a major honour. He has lost two League Cup finals, the 2019 Champions League final and the Euro 2020 final. He is also a Premier League runner-up.
Kane will be keen to end his trophy drought sooner rather than later, but his chances of success at Tottenham are thin. Bayern Munich and Real Madrid would both guarantee silverware for the player, but he wants to stay in the Premier League to make more history.
Kane has reiterated his desire to break Alan Shearer's scoring record of 260 Premier League goals. "It's for sure something I want to achieve," he recently admitted. "But I try not to look too far ahead in football. A lot can change in a short period of time."
