Erik ten Hag has been backed in the transfer market this summer, with Manchester United making three signings already, and with more potentially on the way.
United have already brought in Netherlands duo Christian Eriksen and Tyrell Malacia as well as confirming the signing of Ajax centre-back Lisandro Martinez. The club has also agreed terms with Dutch international Frenkie de Jong, but it remains to be seen if he'll reunite with Ten Hag after a contractual disagreement with Barcelona over deferred payments.
Ten Hag isn't shying away from his new role either - reports indicate he's targeting players that he's familiar with instead of fully giving control over to United's scouting department. But, the Dutchman might have a big task to deal with before the season begins - Cristiano Ronaldo's future and possible exit from the club.
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If Ronaldo does leave, it could pave the way for Ten Hag to get even deeper into his budget for this summer and really splash the cash. Therefore, we simulated the rest of his transfer window, as well as this season, to see just who Ten Hag would replace Ronaldo with.
For this simulation to happen, we used the in-game editor for Football Manager 2022 to allow the transfer of Ronaldo at the start of the 2022 summer transfer window. We also made De Jong part of the squad before the simulation began.
Ten Hag's side filled the large hole left by Ronaldo's exit, spending £60m on Nigerian international Victor Osimhen as his replacement.
Ronaldo's exit clearly required a striker that can score goals — and Osimhen is certainly one of those. Having hit double digits in his last four seasons, netting 18 in three of those four, he's a proven finisher with the pace to cause serious problems for Premier League defences. With 22 appearances for his country at the young age of 23, he could be just what United need to replace someone with Ronaldo's goalscoring capabilities.
Looking at his in-game stats, Osimhen's ability to create space and move while off the ball to give himself the opportunities to score really stands out. His strength is also something quite rare for a player so fast, with the Nigerian being a really well-balanced player overall.
How did United perform without Ronaldo - and were the replacements better?
Last season in real life, the Portuguese legend's stats were still phenomenal — 24 goals across 38 appearances — but it still wasn't enough to get United into the Champions League again. But, his replacement certainly pulled his weight, with Osimhen totalling 21 goal contributions from Ronaldo's former position within the United team, 19 of those goals and two assists from 36 appearances across all competitions.
Osimhen also averaged a 7.28 rating, marking him out as the fourth best player in United's squad, falling behind Jadon Sancho (7.40), Eriksen (7.37) and De Jong (7.34). At the end of the season, FM22 puts out a Best XI for each team, pulling out player statistics, league data and other metrics to come to a conclusion. Here's United's best XI without Ronaldo in the ranks.
Full United Best XI (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Eriksen, De Jong; Sancho, Fernandes, Rashford; Osimhen.
Osimhen made it into United's Best XI at the end of the season, alongside fellow signings de Jong, Eriksen and Martinez in an attacking line-up. Harry Maguire dropped out of the starting XI and made limited appearances, whilst Fred and Scott McTominay rotated in the double pivot with Eriksen.
Whether Osimhen is a realistic target for United fans to get excited about appears unlikely at this stage. But if Ronaldo does exit, Ten Hag will need to find a way of ensuring he doesn't lose that sort of goalscoring output next season. In this simulation, Osimhen was his replacement, and the £60 million man came close to matching Ronaldo's tally.
Who do you think United need this summer? Let us know in the comments below.
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