It is fair to say that Manchester United have lacked a clinical and consistent number nine to lead the line at Old Trafford for a number of years now.
Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee, the two senior centre-forward options available to Ruben Amorim, have combined for just five goals in the Premier League so far this season.
No Manchester United player has hit double figures for goals in the top-flight, with Bruno Fernandes leading the way on seven, and only three players have scored more than three times.
In fact, the last time a player scored more than ten goals in a Premier League season for the Red Devils was when Marcus Rashford found the back of the net 17 times in the 2022/23 campaign.
Manchester United are reportedly looking to address the situation when the summer transfer window opens for business later this year, as they have been linked with an interest in a player from one of their Premier League rivals.
Manchester United eyeing Premier League striker
French outlet L’Equipe, as relayed by the Mirror, reported earlier this month that the Red Devils are interested in a deal to sign Jean-Philippe Mateta from Crystal Palace.
The report claimed that talks have already been held between United and the player’s representatives to explore a potential move to Old Trafford for the French centre-forward at the end of the season.
It also revealed that the Eagles are poised to demand a fee of £40m for the former Mainz marksman this summer, and it remains to be seen whether or not Manchester United are prepared to pay that much for the Palace sensation.
The Mirror added that Amorim’s dream recruit for the upcoming summer transfer window would be Sporting star Viktor Gyokeres, whom he managed during his time in Portugal, but that the player’s £80m release clause is deemed to be too rich for the club to afford due to their debt in excess of £1billion.
This means that, at half the price, Mateta could emerge as a cost-effective addition for the Portuguese head coach to bolster his attacking options for the 2025/26 campaign and beyond.
His form for Crystal Palace since the start of last season, at least, suggests that he could come in and offer more than Hojlund and Zirkzee have provided the team in front of goal in the Premier League for the Red Devils, who have been severely lacking in the striker department.
Why Man Utd should sign Jean-Philippe Mateta
At £40m, Mateta could be viewed as a bargain signing for the club when you consider that a £72m deal was agreed with Atalanta for Hojlund and the Reds paid £36.5m to land Zirkzee from Bologna.
United, therefore, paid in excess of £100m to create their current strikeforce and have, so far, received five goals from them combined in the Premier League, which does not feel like value for money.
Mateta, meanwhile, has hit double figures for goals in the top-flight in each of the last two seasons and could arrive to provide Amorim with a reliable presence in the number nine position next term.
Appearances
35
27
xG
10.94
11.26
Shots on target per 90
1.1
0.9
Goals
16
12
Goals per 90
0.6
0.5
Big chances created
5
7
Key passes
32
26
Assists
5
2
As you can see in the table above, the £40m-rated star has been incredibly productive at the top end of the pitch for the Eagles, with 28 goals and 12 ‘big chances’ created in the league since the start of last season.
These statistics also show that Mateta is clinical with the chances that come his way in the Premier League, as it has only taken 22.20 xG for him to score 28 times.
As you can see in the clips above, Mateta has the ability to score a variety of goals, whether that be with his head, his right foot, his left foot, from close range, by chipping the goalkeeper, or by driving forward past defenders to score.
Manchester United, however, once had their own version of the Palace star in the form of Romelu Lukaku, who they sold to Inter for £73m in the summer of 2019.
Why Lukaku was Manchester United's own Mateta
Firstly, both players offer a physical presence in the centre-forward position, as Mateta stands at a colossal 6 foot 4 and Lukaku is just one inch shorter at 6 foot 3, which means that they can both hold their own against strong central defenders.
Where Are They Now
Secondly, they are both clinical finishers who do not need too many opportunities to find the back of the net.
Throughout his career at club level, the Belgium international has scored 169 goals from an xG of 160.98, which speaks to his ability to consistently tuck away his chances.
Lukaku scored 16 goals in 34 Premier League matches in his debut season at Old Trafford in the 2017/18 campaign and if you compare his form that term to Mateta’s form for Palace last term there are a lot of similarities.
As you can see in the chart above, aside from the defensive side of the game, both players excel in similar areas when they are at the top of their game, albeit the Belgian star was more effective in front of goal in that particular campaign.
Sky Sports reported at the time of his departure in 2019 that he was keen to move on from Old Trafford because he was unhappy that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came in and dropped him from the team in the previous season, when he managed 12 goals in 32 league outings.
Lukaku, who was described as “physically devastating” by Udinese goalkeeper Juan Musso, then went on to score 64 goals in all competitions for Inter in the next two seasons combined.
He has played for Chelsea, Inter again, Roma, and Napoli since then, only failing to score ten league goals in a season once, and has scored ten times in 26 Serie A matches for Napoli so far this term.
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In all, he’s found the net 124 times since leaving, with the 31-year-old forward consistently proving his ability as a powerful, goalscoring, number nine – at United and elsewhere. As a result, they may rue their decision to sell him in 2019, as they have failed to adequately replace him in the past six years.
They already had their own version of Mateta and may now have to shell out another £40m, on top of the £100m+ that they paid for Hojlund and Zirkzee, in an attempt to finally replace the goals that Lukaku almost guaranteed when he played.