Overview
- The club scored just 44 Premier League goals in 2024/25, its lowest tally in a generation and a key driver of the striker search.
- No formal bid has been lodged for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins despite backing from Paul Ince as a proven Premier League scorer.
- Paul Ince and Stan Collymore have proposed sending Rasmus Hojlund to Villa—either on loan or as part of a straight swap—to facilitate a deal for Watkins.
- United remain linked with alternatives such as Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo and Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres after earlier moves stalled.
- Profit-and-sustainability limits and no European revenue are prompting plans to loan Hojlund to rebuild his confidence and free funds for a leading centre-forward.