The summer silly season is here, and at Manchester United, you know what the major team needs are. Striker is at the very top of the list, and in this edition of Man United Transfer Talk, we’ll cover Benfica forward Gonçalo Ramos, Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins and Napoli center forward Victor Osimhen.
All of these are potential new options as the club have now finally dropped their interest in Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane.
That is according to a report in The Sun, who claim that landing the 21-year-old Portugese international could cost about £80 million. That’s because he’s represented by super-agent Jorge Mendes, who is known to drive a hard bargain.
With the passing of Mino Raiola, he’s premier agent in the world’s game these days.
As for Kane, goodbye and good riddance to that overly protracted and long tedious narrative.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy won’t be selling Kane for less than £100m, and it’s a near certainty he won’t sell to a domestic rival.
Perhaps Kane will move to Real Madrid instead? More on that here.
Moving on to Watkins, United have added him to their summer striker wish list, according to The Athletic.
The 27-year-old, who is thought to be a much more cost effective option than Kane, Ramos or Osimhen, scored 15 league goals for the Villans last season.
He was a big part of helping AVFC qualify for UEFA Europa Conference League for next season.
More analysis of this narrative here.
Finally, in regards to Osimhen, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain are expected to rival United in the derby to capture his signature. When all is said and done, the final transfer fee could hit as high as €150 million. Caught Offside has more.
In other words, this is, in the words if hip-hip legend Ludacris “big paper like pancakes stacking ’em up.”
It makes Ramos look cheap by comparison.
So maybe Watkins is the best potential solution then? The MUFC takeover situation needs to hurry up and resolve itself, so the Qataris can takeover and get in there, and thus start spending their cash.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.