Manchester United's season has descended into panic and dread after months of optimism.
It's hard to get too excited about an FA Cup final when you're the last line of defence from stopping your great rivals from having the opportunity to equal your greatest-ever achievement. Even Premier League fixtures have become nervy affairs due to the anxiety of missing out on the Champions League. There's still joy to be found (United could win the final!) but it's clear the side is running on empty and the sooner this gruelling campaign concludes the better.
Then heads can gently gaze towards the warming glow of a sunny horizon. The transfer window promises to be yet another exciting, if expensive, one for Erik ten Hag and we all know what the priority is.
Also read: 13 exits and five signings - what the United transfer list could look like
A new centre-midfielder, goalkeeper, right-back and centre-back are all on the wishlist but they all pale in importance to an elite level-striker. United have been desperately short on goals this season, despite Marcus Rashford's best efforts, and it's held them back. Only Aston Villa - who started the season terribly - have scored less out of the top 10 sides.
Harry Kane is Ten Hag's top target and what a signing he would be. The England captain has got at least 20 goals in each of his last nine seasons and just needs one more this year to hit the 30 mark for a fourth time. United have lacked such a guaranteed source of goals for years and he would add the cutting edge that's missing in the side.
But, even though he is approaching the final year of his contract and would presumably be keen on a move away after another terrible Tottenham campaign, signing him will not be easy. Daniel Levy is a notoriously hard negotiator, especially with rival Premier League clubs, and won't let him go without a fight and a significant fee, if at all.
United aren't prepared to play games with the Spurs chairman and have already drafted up a healthy list of alternatives should they fail in the pursuit. Napoli talisman Victor Osimhen is of similar stature, though lacks the longevity and experience of Kane, and is being monitored while Rasmus Hojlund, Goncalo Ramos, Mohammed Kudus and Randal Kolo Muani are all being considered as well.
But what if United fail to sign any of them? It's a very real possibility given all will demand massive fees, will have several other admirers and the club is still in flux due to the ownership situation. A summer without a striker arriving is unthinkable and would verge on disaster but there could be an alternative for the January window.
Ivan Toney has proven to be an excellent Premier League striker and could have been on the shortlist as well if it wasn't for his now-confirmed ban. The Brentford striker has been suspended from all football-related activity for eight months for breaking Football Association betting rules.
At present, that will keep Toney out of action until January 16 and though that is sure to be an agonisingly long time without playing, it's not quite as career-altering as it could have been. Other players have been served much longer bans for similar offences and two months of Toney's suspension will come during the off-season. Not being allowed to train with his teammates until September 17 is not nice but Toney will be unavailable for a similar amount of time to a serious injury layoff but without any of the health complications that provides.
It's far from ideal but the 27-year-old should hopefully be able to return to the game not too much worse for wear despite the frustrations of so long on the sidelines. Which could make him an ideal January signing for a host of clubs, United included.
United have had to wait to make a striker signing before. In 2000, the club pulled the plug on signing Ruud van Nistelrooy from PSV Eindhoven due to concerns over the Dutch hitman's injured knee. An £18.5million deal was agreed and Van Nistelrooy travelled to Manchester for his medical.
But when the player and his club refused to agree to additional fitness tests the move collapsed. A few days later, Van Nistelrooy suffered a horrific cruciate ligament injury in training which ruled him out for a whole year. However, Sir Alex Ferguson's interest never waned and United returned to finally bring him to Old Trafford upon his recovery.
It ended up being a masterstroke as Van Nistelrooy became a club hero with 150 goals in 219 appearances. It just goes to show that patience can be a virtue and sometimes waiting to sign a player can have its benefits.
If United are in a position where they need to sign a striker in January then something would have gone drastically wrong. But if they are, they could do a lot worse than a striker with 20 goals to his name this year and a lot of lost time to make up for.
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