Manchester United have made their fair proportion of poor signings over the past couple of years, lots of which had been accepted by former supervisor Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman spent huge throughout his first summer time in cost at Outdated Trafford, splashing over £200m on new gamers, together with a £86m transfer to deliver Antony with him from Ajax.
The deal for the Brazilian was the second-biggest within the membership’s historical past, however the deal has been a whole catastrophe, with the 24-year-old scoring simply 12 instances in 96 appearances.
Nevertheless, he’s since moved on mortgage to LaLiga aspect Actual Betis, rediscovering his kind within the closing third, notching three objectives and one help in his first 4 outings for his new outfit.
Antony hasn’t been the one attacker to not dwell as much as expectations within the attacking division over the previous few years, with two different first-team members struggling to make the specified influence.
Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee’s stats in 2024/25
The centre-forward function has all the time been an iconic one for the Purple Devils, however in 2024/25, no participant has been in a position to thrive underneath the stress it brings.
Rasmus Hojlund has been the number-one possibility underneath Ruben Amorim however has didn’t make the most of the belief proven in him, scoring simply seven instances throughout all competitions this marketing campaign.
The £72m addition hasn’t discovered the again of the online because the Europa League conquer Viktoria Plzen again in December, at present enduring a 15-game drought with out discovering the again of the online.
Because of the religion proven within the Dane, Joshua Zirkzee has typically needed to accept an influence function, leading to minutes off the bench, however has nonetheless managed to seek out the online on 5 events all through 2024/25.
The Dutchman joined in a £36.5m deal from Bologna in the summertime, struggling to satisfy the calls for of the Premier League – even being substituted within the first half within the defeat in opposition to Newcastle United.
To make issues worse for the Purple Devils, one participant who additionally didn’t impress at Outdated Trafford has outscored the aforementioned pair in the course of the ongoing marketing campaign, rediscovering his goalscoring kind after his departure.
The previous United participant who’s outscored Hojlund & Zirkzee
After taking the function and making a number of additives in his first window, former boss Ten Hag as soon as once more focused reinforcements throughout his second window in January 2023.
His search led him to a transfer for compatriot Wout Weghorst, who joined United on mortgage from Burnley for the second half of the season, providing a senior choice to the previous Ajax boss.
The now 32-year-old would go on to make 17 league appearances within the North West, unable to seek out the again of the online, as United secured a third-place end – in what was a good first yr on the helm for Ten Hag.
Weghorst, who earned £35k-per-week throughout his spell, would discover the online on two events, along with his two efforts coming within the Europa League and Carabao Cup as he helped the membership win the latter for the primary time in six years.
Nevertheless, regardless of his time in Manchester, the membership determined in opposition to making the short-term spell everlasting – subsequently returning to his mum or dad aspect and transferring on mortgage to Ajax for the present marketing campaign.
How Weghorst compares to Zirkzee & Hojlund for objectives in 2024/25 |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Competitors |
Weghorst |
Zirkzee |
Hojlund |
League |
7 |
3 |
2 |
Cup |
1 |
2 |
5 |
Complete |
8 |
5 |
7 |
Minutes per aim |
128 |
297 |
266 |
Stats through Transfermarkt |
His transfer again to his homeland has allowed him to rediscover his goalscoring kind, thriving with common recreation time for the Dutch outfit, scoring eight instances throughout all competitions – subsequently outscoring Hojlund and Zirkzee within the course of.
Weghorst’s kind away from Outdated Trafford should rub salt into the injuries of the fanbase, particularly after their dismal latest run of kind which has seen them slip to fifteenth within the league standings.
The shape of the present choices at Amorim’s disposal is a trigger for concern, highlighting the challenges the 40-year-old faces if he’s to be successful and finish the membership’s decade watch for a league title.
Nevertheless, it’s manifestly apparent that reinforcements are wanted on the prime finish of the pitch this summer time, with the membership in determined want of a change in fortunes amid the unacceptable place they at present discover themselves in at current.
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