Edinson Cavani was a slow starter at Manchester United last season after arriving on deadline day.
Unfortunately this second season for him has proved just as slow to get going.
If Manchester United hoped this latest trip to Uruguay for the international breaks would spark him into life, well, we are still waiting.
Cavani strikes a blank, again
Cavani had another frustrating game for Uruguay last night as his side were beaten 4-1 by Fred’s Brazil.
The United striker started the game and played all 90 minutes, but did not even manage a single attempt at goal.
A frustrated Cavani picked up a yellow card for his troubles in the defeat.
This followed a 3-0 defeat against Argentina in which Cavani played 45 minutes, and a 0-0 draw against Colombia days earlier.
The positives are Cavani has got some game time under his belt in a competitive environment – but the goals have not been coming.
No goals in his last eight
It is now eight matches for club and country since Cavani scored. His last was in the Copa America against Paraguay back in June.
These include four matches for Manchester United, of which just one came as a starter.
But he has had opportunities in some of his substitute showings, including a great chance to grab a winner against Villarreal.
That miss underlined his lack of sharpness, and it’s possible that his time away with Uruguay has helped him even if it has not shown on the pitch.
What Cavani really needs is a goal, and it won’t be too long until he is back bursting the net once again.
Cavani is like most strikers in that he needs consistency and thrives on form. United saw this at the end of last season when he went from a single-figure goalscoring number to finish the campaign on 17 goals.
One of the issues is the lack of regular game time Cavani may get this season alongside Ronaldo. Everybody saw the hysteria when Solskjaer dared to start Cavani ahead of him last time out.
This kind of decision will be a lot easier to take if Cavani starts scoring goals again.
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