Man Utd's striker plans and why Viktor Gyokeres and Victor Osimhen may be snubbed | OneFootball

Manchester United have been tipped to avoid making any big-money striker acquisitions this summer, instead continuing the current model of paying modest fees for younger targets.

United's pursuit of a striker is no secret. The Red Devils have spent almost £100m on Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund over the past two seasons yet are still in desperate need of more attacking firepower. Ruben Amorim's current side are on course to record their lowest-scoring top-flight campaign since 1990 - before all but two members of the squad were even born.

However, this drive for new recruits will be made with the club's finances firmly in mind. In a Q&A for The Athletic, David Ornstein stressed that United are expected to operate with "some caution" in the summer window. The Red Devils may very well target "younger talents costing lower transfer fees and salaries", explicitly citing Sporting CP's Viktor Gyokeres and Galatasaray's Napoli loanee Victor Osimhen as examples of "big names" who would command "big money" which United will be wary of.

Osimhen has been a long-term target for United and several other Premier League clubs. Napoli unwittingly priced the prolific forward out of a move last summer, eventually sending him to Galatasaray on loan and agreeing to lower his release clause. However, the Serie A outfit are hoping to spark a bidding war for the centre-forward in the upcoming off-season.

Gyokeres' price tag has already been reportedly set. The buccaneering all-round forward threat is expected to be available for around €60m-€70m (£50.2m-£58.5m) - far below the €100m (£83.6m) release clause in his Sporting contract.

United's pursuit of Gyokeres is not only complicated by their new transfer strategy, but the ambitious 26-year-old is said to prefer a move to a Premier League club that can guarantee Champions League football.

Victor Osimhen could cost upwards of £75m this summer / Ahmad Mora/GettyImages

This renewed focus on affordable youth - which has seen the club snap up the likes of Ayden Heaven, Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu and Chido Obi in the last 12 months - is partly a consequence of their continued absence from Europe's premier club competition. Without the lucrative funds of Champions League football, United cannot afford to be so extravagantly wasteful. Given their lowly positioning in the Premier League table, United's only hope of qualifying for the competition next season is by winning this year's Europa League.

But beyond Sir Jim Ratcliffe's obsession with rectifying United's dire financial situation, which has finally shifted its focus away from non-playing staff to the under-performing players themselves, one of the club's few successful recruits in recent years followed this model.

Bruno Fernandes arrived from Sporting CP for £47m in January 2020 on a relatively modest salary of £100,000 per week. The playmaker's continued excellence has seen him rewarded with increased wages over the subsequent half-decade which haven't unduly burdened United's bank balance.

Ipswich Town's 22-year-old striker Liam Delap fits the bill of United's rejigged transfer focus and, unlike the more costly options of Osimhen and Gyokeres, boasts a full Premier League season of impressive performances.