Erik ten Hag stopped Man Utd from signing Ivan Toney from Brentford during the summer transfer window, according to reports.
The Red Devils were quite busy in the summer transfer market with new co-owners INEOS completing five deals before the transfer window shut.
Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte all arrived as the first signings under Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS.
Man Utd have had a mixed start to the new campaign with Ten Hag coming under early pressure after losing 3-0 at home to arch-rivals Liverpool before the international break.
However, four points from Premier League matches against Southampton and Crystal Palace have calmed any sack rumours down with a 7-0 victory over Barnsley sandwiched in between.
Despite their rout of Barnsley, Man Utd have only scored five goals in five matches in the Premier League and there are concerns that they should have bought a proven centre-forward over the summer to compliment their young talent.
The arrival of 23-year-old Zirkzee from Bologna takes some of the goalscoring strain off 21-year-old Rasmus Hojlund this season but neither of them have particularly impressive scoring records in their careers.
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And now ESPN have revealed that Napoli’s Victor Osimhen was a target before they signed Hojlund and similarly Ten Hag rejected the chance to sign Arsenal and Chelsea target Toney in the summer in favour of Zirkzee.
The report claims:
‘Sources told ESPN that Napoli’s Victor Osimhen was scouted during the 2022-23 season, but concerns were raised over his ability to hold the ball up and also whether Serie A was a strong enough league to truly measure his ability, with Lukaku’s prolific form at Inter cited as a reason to be skeptical of Osimhen’s real quality.
‘In spite of those concerns about Serie A, United then opted to complete a £72m deal for Atalanta’s Højlund, who was just 20 at the time and had scored 10 goals in 34 games for the Italian side.
‘It was a similar story this summer, with Zirkzee moving for £36.5m despite netting only 14 times in two seasons for the Serie A team. Before signing Zirkzee, United had considered a move for Brentford’s Ivan Toney, but sources have said that the England forward was ruled out because he didn’t fit Ten Hag’s profile for the required striker in that, while boasting an impressive strike-rate, he didn’t press defenders energetically enough.’
READ MORE: Big Midweek: Ten Hag back in Europe with Man Utd, Arteta decisions, Liverpool host West Ham
