Manchester United desperately need a striker to come in and lead the line.
The situation was already desperate when Cristiano Ronaldo was at the club. However, with his acrimonious departure, the situation has become more dire and it is now a case of whether the club should sign a striker rather than whether they should.
Several names have been put forward as the club intensifies its efforts to recruit a top-class goalscorer to head up Erik ten Hag’s illustrious attack line, which already includes the likes of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Antony, Jadon Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho.
One of them is the young Portuguese striker Gonçalo Ramos. Initially linked with the 20-time English champions in the summer, ties with Ramos accelerated after his incredible World Cup heroism.
To the surprise of the entire football world, Fernando Santos, who has since vacated his position as Portugal manager, snubbed Ronaldo in favor of Ramos against Switzerland. Ramos more than rewarded Santos’ faith in him, scoring a dazzling hat-trick to take the Seleçao to the quarter-finals, where they were knocked out by a stubborn defending side Morocco.
The Benfica ace has since been billed as Ronaldo’s “heir” and “successor” in the national team setup, something that could well spill over to club level if Ramos makes a sensational move to Old Trafford.
Ramos is a more than worthy replacement for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and has the potential to fill his boots admirably at the Theater of Dreams. His numbers speak for themselves.
For the Liga Nos giants, Ramos has notched an impressive 14 goals and six assists in 21 appearances this campaign. 11 of them have arrived in the top category of Portugal.
With Erik ten Hag widely reported as a huge fan of the 21-year-old, it’s easy to see why that is. Beyond simply putting the ball into the back of the net, Ramos has proven adept at linking up the attack and bringing his teammates into play.
The player is an aggressive ball presser, which he excels at to great effect. He combines these attributes with his clinical nature in front of goal and, on paper, he has the perfect striker combination that fits Ten Hag’s style of play and football philosophy like a glove.
However, how realistic are United’s chances of signing Ramos in January? Recently, the president of the Benfica club, Rui Costa, publicly stated that the Eagles have no intention of parting ways with their prolific goalscorer at the turn of the year.
Costa warned those interested that, unless Ramos’ astronomical 120 million euro buyout clause is paid in January, the player will remain in the ranks of Benfica until the end of the season.
Costa’s “non-intervention” declaration does not bode well for United’s chances of enlisting the striker’s services. The greedy and parasitic owners of the 20-time English champions are unlikely to loosen the stock market strings and provide sufficient funds to oversee such an operation in January. Even more so now that the Glazers are apparently dating and a full sale is being discussed.
The Red Devils face an impossible dilemma. Go for Ramos in January at the expense of future acquisitions, or wait until the summer when they’ll go head-to-head against Europe’s elite for the signing of the young star.
