Erik ten Hag must be baffled. How did Manchester United begin the season without a recognised centre forward?
As the Old Trafford transfer gurus unsuccessfully pursued Frenkie de Jong but strengthened other areas of the pitch, the need to have sufficient firepower seems to have been neglected.
United scored just 57 Premier League goals last season, with only Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes making it into double figures in the competition.
Erik ten Hag was forced to turn to a half-fit Cristiano Ronaldo to save Manchester United in their Premier League opener against Brighton on Sunday
The Portuguese star, who wants to leave Old Trafford, was only named among the substitutes
And with Edinson Cavani departing and Mason Greenwood’s future far from certain, there was clearly a need to bring in another out-and-out striker.
It is fortunate that Anthony Martial, who also looked to be on his way out of Old Trafford, enjoyed a resurgence during pre-season to give Ten Hag an unexpected additional option up front.
But he suffered an injury that ruled him out of Sunday’s season opener against Brighton and it remains to be seen when he will return.
The uncertainty over Cristiano Ronaldo, who made clear his desire to leave United for Champions League football, only made the need to boost numbers in attack all the more pressing.
Anthony Martial performed well during pre-season but then suffered a hamstring injury
Now United are pursuing options. However, in the wake of a 2-1 opening day defeat, they just give the appearance of being desperate.
The former West Ham and Stoke forward Marko Arnautovic, 33, emerged as one target over the weekend. But Bologna rejected a £7.5million offer and United have now dropped their chase.
While United may have been ridiculed over that, you can’t escape the reality that they need to sign a centre forward in the coming weeks who’ll be decent back-up to Ronaldo and Martial.
In their desperation, United turned to the Austria and Bologna striker Marko Arnautovic – but later dropped their chase after an offer was rejected
If Ronaldo does secure his exit, then whoever comes in could well find themselves playing an important role this season.
United have always had at least one back-up striker in the past even if, as we’ll see, some have been better than others.
THE GOOD
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
The ultimate back-up striker. Not only was Solskjaer perfectly content to warm the bench and assume…