For many Manchester United fans, the club have been too obvious in the transfer market. Fans are happy with the acquisitions of players like Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez but they would also like John Murtough to uncover some hidden gems.
Of course looking for hidden gems adds an element of risk. Not every signing is going to be a Javier Hernandez, coming from a much smaller league but still winning the hearts of United fans, but their lower fees usually mitigate this.
To that end, the reports from The Sun that United are interested in 18-year-old forward Jhon Duran from Chicago Fire in the MLS will come as a welcome surprise.
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Starting his career at Envigado FC in Colombia, the young winger impressed from an early age. In 2019, he became the second-youngest goal scorer in the history of the Colombian first division at just 15 years and 263 days old; scoring in the ninth minute of his debut.
Of course, this caught the eyes of bigger clubs, especially in the MLS. Chicago Fire were the club to pick him up and at 17 years old he became the youngest-ever international transfer to the league.
He would make his debut against David Beckham's Inter Miami in February of 2022 and score his first goal a few months later, in May, against FC Cinncinati. So far he has played 27 games and scored 8 goals.
Chicago Fire are struggling, however, finishing 11th in the table this season. They have already sold goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina to Chelsea, so Duran could follow him to the Premier League if the MLS club look to cash in on their star asset.
Duran can either play on the wing or up front, similar to Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial who are two of United's current options at striker. And at a reported price of around £10m, the Colombian could act as a good option to replace Cristiano Ronaldo in the squad if the forward chooses to leave in January.
He is young and could be moulded by Erik ten Hag into a striker that fits his style of play. And given Martial's problems with injury, having numbers in the squad will be important as United look to finish in the top four at the end of the season.
According to The Sun, United face competition from Premier League rivals Liverpool to land the young striker, who could be available for around £10million, with the player's agent also said to have already travelled to England for talks.
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