Manchester United will have to rebuild in the summer, with several key players leaving and also a number of positions already needing to be addressed. One place where the club needs definite reinforcements is in the striker position.
Edinson Cavani has suffered from injuries throughout the season and at 37-years-old Cristiano Ronaldo is showing signs that he starting to slow down and questions are being raised about his all-around game. The Manchester Evening News, therefore, understands that United are targeting a younger striker in the summer market.
And with Cavani leaving on a free when his contract expires at the end of the season and Ronaldo's future in doubt due to United potentially missing out on Champions League football, the forward needs to be able to hit the ground running. This is why the club have been linked with Tammy Abraham, who after a summer move away from Chelsea, is currently playing in Italy with AS Roma.
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Abraham is Roma's top scorer with 23 goals in all competitions and coach Jose Mourinho has both praised him, but also encouraged him in his usual way, by saying he could do a lot more. He told DAZN: When you say Abraham is fantastic, I disagree, he can do even more. I demand a lot of him because I know his potential, I'm not talking about goals but he must play every game with this attitude.'
Italian outlet Il Messaggero, cited by Football Italia, stated that United are 'considering' a move for Abraham, but Roma are asking for a fee of around £100m to part ways with Mourinho's talisman. The English striker was asked about the rumours in a recent interview.
Abraham told TalkSport : “When I see reports linking me with other clubs it makes me feel good, it makes you feel like you’re doing something right. It’s a nice feeling seeing your name all over newspapers. But for me it’s about focusing on doing my business here. I can keep getting linked with many clubs but who knows what the future holds?
“Of course I grew up in England, I’m a London boy. So maybe one day I’ll be back in the Premier League to make noise there. But for me right now it’s about focusing on Rome, on doing the best I can and hopefully winning these guys a trophy which they haven’t done in many years.”
It has been widely reported that Chelsea have a buy-back clause that activates in 2023 and given their own struggles up front with Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner, they could look to resign the player. United need to invest heavily in their striker this summer given the quality young options available on the market and their striking woes as we saw against Leicester.
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