Manchester United need a new striker after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. After a fallout with coach Erik ten Hag and an explosive interview with Piers Morgan, United parted ways with the 37-year-old forward. This leaves a spot in the squad for another forward.
But could Ronaldo's replacement for Portugal also be his replacement at United? United's former number seven was dropped from his national team's starting lineup against Switzerland on Tuesday and Goncalo Ramos started in his place.
It was the 21-year-old's first start at a major tournament but he didn't let the occasion get ahead of him. Ramos scored a hattrick and also registered an assist as Portugal won 6-1 and now many fans are wondering how Ronaldo can return to the starting lineup.
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However, it is not just at the World Cup that Ramos has impressed so far this season. In 11 appearances for Benfica in the league, he has scored nine goals and registered three assists.
His all-around game has also been praised by fans and pundits alike and when speaking to Mais Futebol earlier this year, he showed that he understood what was required from a modern striker. He started by saying, “Increasingly, more is asked of a spearhead to be more complete."
In a comment that would go down well with Ten Hag, Ramos then continued: “People thought that a striker is only there to score goals and the rest doesn’t matter, but I think that over the last few years that image is disappearing a little bit.
“It is increasingly important for a striker to be more in the game and contribute more to the team, to connect the game, to put pressure on. Often with movements in which you end up in another position and ask for another type of task.”
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