Manchester United struck a deal with Juventus back in August to sign five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.
United appeared to be the clear winners of the deal, signing the Portuguese star for just £12.8 million. Commercially the move has been a huge success for United, with the transfer fee repaid in shirt sales and merchandise, The Mirror reported.
On the pitch Ronaldo has scored 14 times already, while Juventus’ top scorer is Paulo Dybala with 10 goals, whose contract is set to expire in June. The Italian side clearly had a problem up front created by Ronaldo’s departure.
This January, Juventus made a big money move to sign Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic for £62 million.
Juventus have their post-Ronaldo striker, United don’t
Juventus have ‘been there and done that’ with the Ronaldo experiment now. He scored 101 goals in three seasons and won two Serie A titles and one Coppa Italia.
United are in ‘year one’ of the Ronaldo return and he older and a little less dynamic than the version Juventus got, and a little less ruthless, even though he is the team’s top scorer.
It’s still arguable that United have the better player now, than Juventus, as Ronaldo’s experience may really pay off in the Champions League knockout stages compared to Vlahovic, who has never played in the competition.
But fast-forward to 2024, or even further to say 2027, and Juventus won’t have any regret at all about parting ways with Ronaldo when they did and snapping up Vlahovic.
Vlahovic is only 22, and has the ability to be Juventus’ main man for the next decade. They have used this season to find a long term striker solution, while United are yet to pinpoint the club’s next move.
This isn’t a criticism of United, it’s simply how the land now lies. Edinson Cavani’s contract expires in the summer, Ronaldo’s stay is only likely to be short-term, and Anthony Martial is out on loan.
Mason Greenwood is no longer being considered part of United’s future, while Marcus Rashford is more effective on the wing.
Manchester United need a Vlahovic
United need to now identify and work towards signing a centre-forward who will succeed Ronaldo, whether it be this summer, next January, or the year after.
Get it right like Juventus appear to have done, and the position is sorted for years to come. Vlahovic was reported by The Mail to be on United’s radar, but the club had no intention of making a move this January and did not get involved in the transfer pursuit of the striker.
Erling Haaland would be ideal, but ESPN reported in January that the Red Devils are out of the running. Don’t completely discount it, however a move is beginning to look more of a long shot than a likelihood.
The club’s scouts need to get to work then, guided by the club’s new manager. If it is Mauricio Pochettino, there is a chance he pushes for Harry Kane, which would be an expensive gamble considering he is 28.
United would ideally sign an elite young forward in the Vlahovic or Haaland mould, the problem is there are not too many of them around.
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