Man Utd could be making a dangerous move that has already failed thrice, Jason Wilcox needs to avoid the curse

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Manchester United’s transfer window, which looked rosy at one point, is suddenly showing signs of turbulence after latest developments.

Matheus Cunha’s early signing remains the biggest positive, and Bryan Mbeumo was expected to follow him but that trail has gone a bit cold.

Furthermore, Tottenham are emerging as genuine Mbeumo rivals, while Viktor Gyokeres has his heart set on Arsenal instead of Man Utd.

Amidst all the blows, however, the biggest one could end up being self-inflicted in a move that has already failed thrice. Jason Wilcox should steer clear.

Man Utd hovering close to Frankfurt curse

While Mbeumo’s signing still looks likely, the transfer window after looks uncertain for the club since they’ve already faced rejections.

Liam Delap chose Chelsea, Victor Osimhen is arguably beyond United’s financial means, and Gyokeres prefers Arsenal.

Those three names were the most talked-about for United’s striker search, but problems with all have led United to a fourth option.

United held ‘positive’ Hugo Ekitike talks recently with Eintracht Frankfurt, the striker who rebuilt his reputation in Germany after failing to impress with PSG.

Ekitike has been on Chelsea’s radar as well, but United now look set to take concrete steps to explore the conditions of the deal.

They shouldn’t.

Ekitike, while undoubtedly a great talent, not only has an asking price north of £80 million but follows a history of three failed moves which casts a doubt on him.

What do Sebastien Haller, Luka Jovic, and Randal Kolo Muani have in common? All three left Frankfurt after breakout scoring seasons for a big fee and proceeded to crash and burn for their new clubs.

Frankfurt’s success is as much about the system as it is about the players, which is evidenced by a line of strikers doing well for them before going on to fail at different clubs.

For a potential £80 million, that’s too big a risk for United to take, especially since the club has been a graveyard for striking talent in the last few years as it is.

Hugo Ekitike is a huge risk

Ekitike had 34 goal involvements in 48 games across all competitions so the risk factor comparison isn’t based on stats but on the circumstances of this move.

The 2024/25 season was the first time Ekitike looked good enough to lead the line for a club in Europe’s top-five leagues, and that too came at a club where strikers have a history of flourishing.

Frankfurt sold Kolo Muani for even more, and PSG arguably still regret it as he spent the season on loan at Juventus.

Luka Jovic also had 34 goal involvements for Frankfurt in the 2018/19 season which earned him a move to Real Madrid. He’s now struggling to see the pitch for AC Milan.

Sebastien Haller shone in the same season as Jovic with 32 goal involvements. He carved out a decent career for himself considering his health issues but at 30, he plays for Utrecht in Eredivisie at the time of writing, scoring four league goals in 16 games.

Frankfurt have been here before with these three players and they’re repeating that with their asking price for Ekitike in a starved striker’s market.

At least PSG and Real Madrid were financially secure enough to take the hit of that failed move. United can’t afford to do the same.

Jason Wilcox needs to move away from Ekitike.