Manchester United could reportedly try to hijack Chelsea and Arsenal's attempts to sign one of their high-priority attacking targets this summer.
Despite finding themselves sixth in the Premier League table and still in contention for a place in the 2024-25 Champions League, the Red Devils boast the worst attacking record in the top half.
Erik ten Hag's men have only struck 39 goals in their 28 top-flight games, which is also the third-worst record outside of the relegation zone, only better than Everton's 29 and Crystal Palace's 33.
Summer arrival Rasmus Hojlund has started to find his feet at Old Trafford after an underwhelming start in England's top flight and now has seven goals to show from 20 Premier League games, the same tally as Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay.
However, no Man United player has managed more Premier League goals for Ten Hag's men in the 2023-24 season, leading to the expectation that their forward line will be bolstered in the summer market.
© Reuters
With Anthony Martial also expected to leave upon the expiration of his contract, a good chunk of Man United's wage bill will be freed up for a new marksman to arrive, while offers should also be entertained for Mason Greenwood and Jadon Sancho.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano - speaking to CaughtOffside - the Red Devils could throw their hat into the ring for Brentford's Ivan Toney, whose departure from the Bees this summer is seen as inevitable.
The England international is still under contract at the Gtech Community Stadium until 2025, but both Thomas Frank and sporting director Lee Dykes have resigned themselves to losing him ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.
"It's just one of the options to be considered and discussed internally. As I said here multiple times, Man United are still in early stages of the process to decide which striker they want to sign; experienced or young," Romano said on the Red Devils' interest in Toney. "Talks are gonna take place internally, Toney will be one of the names available on the market so could be one to watch."
After racking up an impressive 20 goals in 33 Premier League matches in the 2022-23 season, Toney was slapped with an eight-month suspension for a string of betting offences, ruling him out for the first half of the 2023-24 campaign.
© Reuters
However, the former Newcastle United man has come back with a bang since his ban was lifted, already finding the back of the net four times in 10 Premier League matches and wearing the captain's armband on two occasions.
Toney's efforts have done little to help Brentford put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone, though, as the Bees languish in 15th in the table, just five points clear of the drop zone.
Frank's side would have supposedly quoted interested parties a fee of £100m to let Toney leave in the January transfer window, but the Bees cannot realistically hold out for a nine-figure sum if they drop down to the Championship, especially with just one year left to run on his deal.
Both Arsenal and Chelsea were considered the leading candidates to sign the Englishman midway through the campaign, although the Gunners' interest seems to have cooled as they scope out alternative targets.
Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres, Napoli's Victor Osimhen and Newcastle United's Alexander Isak have been mentioned as other striking options for Arsenal, although Chelsea are also expected to compete for the services of the former two.
Ben Knapton
