Having come to the end of the Premier League season, Manchester United found themselves languishing in sixth position in the table, the joint second lowest they had finished a campaign since Alex Ferguson retired in May 2013.
The demise has been terrible, but hopefully, new manager Erik ten Hag can use the winning experience he gained at Ajax to great effect. Although the same was said for Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal.
The squad requires a major summer overhaul, with too much deadwood needing replaced in the transfer window and certain positions urgently needing to be improved. The club is in desperate need of a centre forward this summer, with Edinson Cavani departing at the end of the season and the team over-reliant on the 37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, who has netted 24 times during the campaign.
United have been linked with a host of names, but ten Hag may have found his very own “Ibrahimovic” in Austrian striker Sasa Kalajdzic, with the Red Devils’ target thought to be available for just £21m.
Should Man Utd sign Sasa Kalajdzic?
They will face a tough battle, however, as European heavyweights, PSG and Borussia Dortmund have shown a keen interest in the player, who has been compared to the aforementioned Ibrahimovic and Peter Crouch, due to his “lanky” 6 foot 7 frame, and these could stand him in good stead if he moved to England.
It’s not just his tall frame that has earned these comparisons however, the 24-year-old has netted six goals in just 15 matches as his season has been disrupted by injury and he scored in his side’s last two matches to secure Stuttgart’s Bundesliga status.
Heading is a strong part of his game, another reason to draw the Ibrahimovic and Crouch comparisons and there is no doubt he could succeed in England and be the talisman that ten Hag needs.
Stuttgart chief Sven Mislintat has stated that the player is “likely” to leave the German club in the summer and this should put United on red alert ahead of a potential swoop.
