Manchester United may well be in the market for a new striker later in 2025 but one target my be joining Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia.
Manchester United have invested in Serie A striker in back-to-back summers but the results have been mixed.
Rasmus Hojlund has shown flashes of his quality but we are yet to see a consistent goalscorer whilst his hold-up play hasn’t been good enough.
United then snapped up Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna but the Dutch forward has yet to convince fans of his Premier League quality.
Hojlund is not safe from being sold and we understand that Chelsea, Juventus and Napoli have all shown an interest.
If United receive a hefty bid for Hojlund this summer, we may well see the Dane go – and United would be wise to have striking targets in mind.
- READ: Confirmed Manchester United transfer deals for January 2025, ins, outs, loan moves, deadline date
Manchester United target could join Cristiano Ronaldo
United may be keen on Viktor Gyokeres having seen the Swede become a goal machine under Ruben Amorim at Sporting.
Others will be in mind though and United have shown an interest in signing Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface.
Reports in November suggested that United have been scouting Boniface ahead of a potential move.
Further claims in December hinted that United had concerns about Boniface’s injury record and that could kibosh any pursuit.
United will have kept one eye on Boniface’s situation though and the Nigerian striker could actually join forces with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg reports that Boniface will be joining Cristiano’s Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
A fee of more than €60million (£50million) has been agreed which Boniface will earn more than €15million per season in Saudi Arabia – around £290,000-a-week.
Those are some remarkable numbers and we certainly wouldn’t expect United to match that kind of money.
Al-Nassr are also chasing Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran, according to The Guardian, but the expectation is that Boniface will be the man who makes the move.
Instead of joining United, Boniface will now partner Cristiano in attack and chase success in the Middle East.
- READ MORE: Who is Cristiano Ronaldo? Meet one of football’s most iconic names and undisputed Man Utd legend
Boniface record at Bayer Leverkusen
We can understand United’s interest in Boniface.
The 24-year-old is a big, physical striker who has dazzled with his goalscoring abilities in the Bundesliga.
Across 33 Bundesliga games for Leverkusen, Boniface has racked up 20 goals and 10 assists.
Boniface’s total Leverkusen record stands at 29 goals and 11 assists in 49 games, boasting impressive numbers.
Injuries continue to plague Boniface though with a hamstring problem keeping him on the sidelines for a chunk of this season.
United may well have made the right call in not pushing for Boniface’s signature this month, but Cristiano should be excited to play alongside him at Al-Nassr.
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