Whether Cristiano Ronaldo leaves in January or summer, Manchester United will need to identify a new player to lead the line. A lot of fans hoped that Anthony Martial would finally find his feet under Erik ten Hag, but the striker has struggled with injury this season.
In his limited minutes, however, Martial has shown what a striker that fits the mold of what Ten Hag wants from a forward. He has played 133 minutes in all competitions and scored three goals and registered two assists.
So in the long term this is the sort of striker that United should be targeting. A player who can take advantage of the spaces left by their opponents and also link the play up between the forward line.
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Ten Hag reiterated this was what he wanted from his striker before United's game against Tottenham when he explained why he had decided that Marcus Rashford would lead the line over Ronaldo. He said: "You saw at the moment Marcus came in [against Newcastle], we were getting more dynamic in front. That's what we need today, to break the lines, but also to build up this game and in the end, we know we have a threat from the bench with Cristiano [Ronaldo] to finish the game."
So who could United sign? Well, many fans believe that the player that Ten Hag should turn to is Jonathan David, who is currently leading the line for Lille in Ligue 1.
David is currently second in the top scorer standings in France with nine goals, equal with Neymar and one goal behind Kylian Mbappe who has scored 10. The Canadian also has three assists, which shows how he can link up with his teammates.
And in a recent interview with Sky Sports, he has opened up the door to a transfer in the future. He stated: "Yeah, you know for me, I was always watching European football on TV and that was always the goal to go to Europe.
"The next step is growing, having more ambition and a bigger club. Every player wants to play for a massive club in their life, so I think if I had the chance to do it, I'll go for it for sure."
He added: "I think they're two different leagues [the Premier League and La Liga], but I can adapt to both, for sure. With the experience that I've had in France, it will help me a lot if I need to adapt to someplace else a lot faster so, yeah, I think that both leagues would suit me."
David has a contract with Lille until 2025 which already puts the French club in a strong position to negotiate, but with the World Cup in November, the striker could boost his transfer tag even more if he performs well for Canada. But if United believe he is the striker that can lead the club to glory in the future, then it will be money well spent.
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