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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Richard Fay

Manchester United are in no position to take Gonçalo Ramos gamble

Manchester United will look to sign a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo next month, and an obvious answer might be the man who has already replaced him at international level.

There is a well-known warning against signing any player on the back of an impressive World Cup showing, but Gonçalo Ramos might well be an exception to the rule given how well he has performed at club level this campaign as well.

Ramos, 21, was already catching attention prior to grabbing headlines in Qatar and has been enjoying a breakthrough season for Benfica with 14 goals and six assists to his name.

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He is also an exception to the rule in that United have been aware of him for much longer than it would seem. Sure, his recent success has amplified interest in his signature, but Erik ten Hag's side has been keeping track of the Portugal international for a while and wouldn't exactly be making a knee-jerk reaction by moving for him.

The World Cup has thrown up one glaring issue, though: the price tag. Ramos would have been a relatively affordable addition prior to the tournament, but Benfica are well aware of his increase in valuation and are under no pressure to sell him midway through a season.

There is a train of thought that they should look to sell him now while he is being talked about as one of the hottest names in football, and there is always the risk of missing out on a handsome payday if his recent form doesn't end up reflecting his true abilities.

Benfica director Rui Costa has already warned that any side looking to sign Ramos will need to trigger his reported €120million release clause, though, given that the club are adamant they will not sell any key players next month.

Even if this is bravado on their part, there is still an acceptance that any deal to sign the 21-year-old would take an enormous fee midway through the campaign, given his importance to the team and the acclaim he has attracted.

It means that if United are to make a move to sign him next month, they really can't have any doubts whatsoever about how he would fit into the team, while the amount it would take to get him would also likely rule out any further notable attacking reinforcements next summer.

He was linked with moves to Newcastle and Wolves last summer, but there has been an underlying concern that he might lack the ability to play at the Premier League's intensity at this stage in his fledgling career.

Although he boasts an impressive goal return this campaign, and has done so regularly as he has progressed through the ranks, he isn't the most mobile of forwards and would appear to lack the pace and dribbling ability to fit into United's front line.

What does bode well is that Ramos has shown an impressive amount of versatility for a traditional central striker. The youngster not only has a deadly touch in front of goal, which lends itself well to playing as a traditional centre-forward, but he also impressed in a slightly deeper role for Benfica last season when he played behind Darwin Nunez.

This season, all of his outings have been in his preferred role as the main striker, and he has relished the responsibility that has been placed on his shoulders, helping Benfica to a huge eight-point lead in the Portuguese league as well as topping their Champions League group ahead of PSG and Juventus.

Another thing to worry about is that only one of his goals this season has come in the Champions League group stages, their first of six against Maccabi Haifa, though he did net four times in their qualification play-offs.

Ultimately, it seems like it would still be a huge risk to take a gamble on Ramos, particularly now that his price tag has grown enormously and the pressure on him to deliver immediately would be massive.

Benfica have no interest in selling him next month, and while his valuation is so high, it makes little sense for any team to gamble on matching it when there are more suitable options available with a longer track record of performing at the highest level.

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