Man Utd 'intensively' working on striker signing as reporter confirms 'talks have already begun'

A trusted reporter has confirmed Manchester United have already held talks over a high profile striker signing and named four frontmen their shortlist is narrowing down to.

Rasmus Hojlund bagged his first goal in 21 matches when scoring the opener in Man Utd’s 3-0 victory over Leicester City last weekend. Joshua Zirkzee, meanwhile, has looked a rejuvenated figure upon being deployed as one of the two No 10s behind the striker, as opposed to leading the line himself.

Nonetheless, it remains painfully clear Man Utd lack the necessary firepower to compete at the highest level, with Hojlund and Zirkzee combining to score just 14 goals in 83 appearances this season.

Accordingly, the summer signing of a potent new striker is a priority at Old Trafford and per the latest from Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, United are ramping up their efforts.

Taking to X, Plettenberg stated Man Utd are ‘intensively’ scouting the market before confirming transfer talks have already taken place.

The reporter did not specify who those talks relate to, though did namecheck four strikers Man Utd have brought under consideration.

“Manchester United are looking to strengthen their attack in the summer and are intensively scouting the market,” wrote Plettenberg. “Talks have already begun.

“From the Bundesliga, the Red Devils are closely monitoring Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko. Viktor Gyokeres and Victor Osimhen remain high on their list.”

Gyokeres, Osimhen, Sesko, Ekitike… who will Man Utd sign?

Sporting CP’s Gyokeres is a known commodity to Ruben Amorim through his own time in Lisbon. It is under Amorim that Gyokeres developed into the world-beating striker he’s become.

The Swede’s current contract with Sporting contains a €100m release clause, though can leave the club for a much reduced fee.

“The release clause is €100m, that’s the official contract, but there is a pact between the player, agents and Sporting directly with the president to let Viktor Gyokeres leave in the summer for a different transfer fee,” reported Fabrizio Romano earlier in March.

“So not €100m (£84m) which was the fee in January, but in the summer to respect the player who accepted to stay at Sporting for one more season (2024/25) and to stay in January despite Ruben Amorim leaving, the price will be different.

“It will be a package worth around €65m-€75m (£54.5m-£62.9m) based on payment terms, add-ons and all these sorts of things.”

United would appear to hold an advantage in the race to snap up Gyokeres with their Amorim connection. However, that relationship did little to prevent Chelsea from swooping in for United target, Geovany Quenda.

Furthermore, there have been suggestions from GiveMeSport that Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko would turn their nose up at joining Man Utd if no Champions League football is on offer. The only way United can qualify for Europe’s top competition is to win the Europa League.

Sesko is also a wanted man at Arsenal, thus muddying the waters in his regard. Arsenal’s dream target is Alexander Isak, but whether Newcastle will sell – even if clubs meet their £150m asking price – is another matter entirely.

Victor Osimhen is expected to be sold by Napoli in the summer. The frontman is currently thriving on a season-long loan at Galatasaray, but once returning to Naples, permanent exit solutions will be explored.

Osimhen’s release clause worth €120m drops in value to a fee in the €75m-€80m range come July 1. As such, don’t expect to see any movement with Osimhen in June.

Eintracht Frankfurt’s Ekitike is perhaps the outsider on Plettenberg’s list, though he’s no less lethal in front of goal.

The Frenchman has scored 19 goals and provided eight assists since joining Frankfurt from PSG in the summer for just €16.5m.

TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Fraser Fletcher, broke news of Ekitike being offered to Man Utd on a six-month loan back in January of 2024.

United snubbed the opportunity at that time, with the 22-year-old instead joining Frankfurt on loan before the move was made permanent six months later.

United could have the chance to rectify that error in the upcoming summer, though will have to swallow their pride to do so.

When reporting on Arsenal’s interest in Ekitike a few days ago, Sky Sports Switzerland claimed Frankfurt now value the forward at €80m/£67.5m.

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