Ranking the Best Striker Options for Manchester United in the Summer Transfer Window

Erik ten Hag's first season with Manchester United is over.

After an awful start and that 4-0 defeat to Brentford, the Red Devils achieved way more than anyone really could have expected; a return to the Champions League via a third-place finish in the Premier League, an FA Cup final and even an EFL Cup trophy win. Most fans would have taken the first part of that sentence alone before the season.

Ten Hag managed it without a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, whose January exit threatened to throw the team off track, but in reality, it eradicated an overbearing problem that was always heading for disaster.

United didn't sufficiently replace their iconic forward, though—bringing in Wout Weghorst on loan—which is a wrong that now has to be made right.

Here, we rank five names currently linked with the Red Devils and begin chipping away at who makes the most sense. It's going to be a long summer, with lots of rumours and potentially a financial takeover.

Despite United's successful year, the 2-1 FA Cup final loss to Manchester City acted as a reminder that there's a huge chasm between the two squads and their attacking options. Who could begin to fix that? Let's take a look.

On the surface, United's links to Rasmus Højlund seem a little too convenient.

He is touted as the next Erling Haaland, his homeland of Denmark is close to Haaland's Norway, and he has some similar attributes to Manchester City's prolific striker that make him an exciting prospect at just 20 years old.

Social media wants to dub Højlund as the next sensation and whether or not it turns out to be true, he'd be a useful pick-up for United.

It may seem unflattering, but the Atalanta star's style isn't too far away from Weghorst; or at least, what Ten Hag hoped he'd get from the Dutchman when he swooped for the January loan. He is tall, physical and capable of linking play well.

Although Weghorst initially worked extremely hard for United when he first arrived, that was no longer a noticeable trait after he was dropped at the beginning of April. At 10 years his junior, Højlund's energy wouldn't dissipate so quickly, an important attribute when combined with his clever movement in the box, something Weghorst rarely showed.

With eight goals and two assists in 31 Serie A appearances this season, it's important to remember Højlund is still very much a work in progress.

A strong coach like Ten Hag could mold him well, but his arrival wouldn't immediately fill the gap United need to plug and could still leave the club needing more.

The exciting thing about Gonçalo Ramos is that he's already bagged important goals at every level of the game. Nineteen in Benfica's title-winning campaign, at the age of 21, is enough reason to sit up and take notice.

He also netted three goals in this year's Champions League and a hat-trick at the 2022 World Cup that acted as his worldwide breakout moment in Portugal's 6-1 demolition of Switzerland.

Ramos' confidence shines through every time he plays; he believes he deserves to share the pitch with the best, but he does have some notable tendencies that might become more apparent in a Ten Hag system.

Ramos isn't always the most urgent player on the pitch and can find himself missing out on opportunities to exploit space by failing to make a run. He would need pace bombing ahead of him—not necessarily an issue with the likes of Marcus Rashford in support—as he's not likely to frighten defences too much with his limited speed.

There's a sense that Ramos would score plenty for United, but he isn't quite the complete player Ten Hag is after.

A good option who might take a look at Darwin Núñez's first season in England, the player he replaced at Benfica, and feel he needs more time to round out his game before such a big switch.

Now, this is where United's potential options begin to get really exciting. Randal Kolo Muani has proved two things over the last three seasons: He knows where the goal is and he is brilliantly unselfish.

His evolution from impressive Nantes youngster to the striker who scored 19 goals and laid on 11 assists in Eintracht Frankfurt's Bundesliga campaign is a sign of a player who has all the natural instincts to succeed at the very top.

The 24-year-old also has some key traits that would help United overcome an attacking habit that tends to surface in tight matches.

Frustrations have at times set in around the opposition's box, with the likes of Weghorst and Anthony Martial failing to exploit open space as Ten Hag's men power forward on the counter. While this is unsurprising of the Dutchman, who isn't built to bust a gut at great speed, the France international's inability to sprint beyond the defender is a problem.

Martial also seems to play with an invisible force field around him that stops him from pressing from the front. He is rarely open to receiving the ball with his back to goal. He doesn't turn in possession and start moves that lead to chances, and he instead flits near where he should be, never truly looking busy enough to consistently lead United up the pitch.

Kolo Muani is the opposite; keen to run, dribble and coax defenders in before unselfishly laying on chances for teammates.

A really exciting option who is ready to prove what he's made of in a tougher league.

Honestly, it's a coin toss between Victor Osimhen being placed second or first on these rankings.

His prolific season of 25 goals and four assists in Napoli's triumphant league win is legendary stuff that will have his name uttered alongside club greats such as Diego Maradona for years to come.

He has everything, and at 24 years old, is entering the period of his career when he is capable of taking the Premier League by storm. Vitally, he is terrific at turning his nearest player and is difficult to knock off the ball, an element Ten Hag's team lacks in the final third.

Much of United's success is defined by whether Rashford performs; if he is snuffed out or can't find space to sprint into, chances become limited. He is easy for the opposition to focus on because the team's other regular starters don't offer the same frightening pace.

That said, it has only taken Alejandro Garnacho's cameos to show how an injection of speed and skill opens things up for Rashford. Add Osimhen into the mix, and you suddenly have multiple threats who need to be dealt with carefully.

The Nigeria international should be United's No. 1 pick if Ten Hag has the full backing of the board and time to implement his vision, no matter what happens.

He would likely perform well upon arrival and then grow into one of the division's top stars, but the justification of what would be an extortionate price tag might not happen straight away. He's probably the smartest pick and investment of the lot on this list.

I stress, Harry Kane topping this ranking should be taken with something of an asterisk. He is the best pick if United's financial takeover goes through, a much healthier transfer budget is put in place and they can afford to replace him in a few years.

He will be 30 at the start of the next campaign, and with his history of injuries, it's likely we'll see some decline in the next couple of years. He is, therefore, a quick fix for United's striker problem, a Robin van Persie bought solely for immediate success.

Make no mistake about it, Kane is currently the best striker in the world other than Haaland. His 30-goal Premier League campaign is barely spoken about because Haaland's 36 is such a freakish number. Kane consistently carries Tottenham and is the only reason they finished as high as eighth. There is zero reason for him not to be playing Champions League football, let alone missing out on European competition altogether, as he enters the latter stages of his career.

Kane is a scorer of all types of goals; long-rangers, finishes from inside the box and headers. His willingness to drop deep and collect the ball brings his colleagues into play, and his passing radar is matched by his ability to pull off some wickedly cutting through balls. You'd expect him to go straight into United's team and score plenty while laying on a fair few to the sprinters around him.

But…can anyone actually see Spurs chairman Daniel Levy allowing this to happen?

The north London club have been going nowhere fast for a while now, and Kane's value has slowly dripped over the duration of his contract. Spurs could have let him go to Manchester City last year—a move that would impact them less than the club talisman joining a closer rival in United—but they didn't.

Levy would much rather see Kane disappear off to Madrid or Munich than to pump up a top four contender if, and it's a big if, he ever actually sells at all.