Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United are among the clubs chasing a new No. 9 in the January transfer window. They should all be on red alert following Mathys Tel’s decision to leave Bayern Munich.
Here are the 10 best strikers who could be on the move this month…
10) Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
Marcus Rashford truly is the man of the month and we could not ignore him considering he is the very definition of ‘available’.
You might argue that Rashford is not a striker and we will simply counter that he kind of is; he has predominantly played in wide positions in recent years but came through and made his name as a No. 9. He is similar to Kylian Mbappe in a positional sense if not much else.
Rashford is most certainly available this month and Manchester United are open to selling or loaning out their academy graduate. A permanent departure could earn them as much as £50million, which is an over-valuation, while his £325,000-a-week salary also makes it unlikely clubs will buy him. The wage alone means the Red Devils would probably accept half their asking price.
Had Arsenal not already signed an under-performing, over-paid English winger from a ‘Big Six’ rival in the final hours of the summer transfer window, they might have done the exact same with Rashford this month, though Mikel Arteta is addicted to rejects from Chelsea, not Manchester United.
A transfer abroad is much more likely and Rashford is not short of interest. Clubs in Italy, France, Spain and Germany are keen and while the 27-year-old has been poor for 18 months, he is still a tempting project. We all know the player he can be and the numbers he is capable of producing. Either his 2022/23 season is selling us a dream or he actually has another year like that in his locker.
If football has taught us anything over the last decade, it’s that it is unfair to completely judge or write off a footballer based on a spell at Manchester United. From Angel Di Maria to Alexis Sanchez via Jadon Sancho and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, some world-class players have failed dramatically at Old Trafford and gone on to have success elsewhere. They have been a poisoned chalice for any manager brave enough to take on the job and a graveyard for far too many players. Hell, there has been two undoubted successful signings since Sir Alex Ferguson retired and United have spent well over a billion quid in that time.
It is a risk but if Rashford goes somewhere and starts enjoying his football again, it could quickly become a masterstroke of a signing.
9) Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea)
It has not happened for Christopher Nkunku at Chelsea. He joined the club as one of the highest-rated attackers in Europe, having scored a ridiculous 58 goals in 88 matches in his last two seasons at RB Leipzig.
Ralf Rangnick wanted him at Manchester United but they wouldn’t listen, now four years later, the Red Devils have strong interest in signing him with Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee struggling massively under Ruben Amorim after struggling massively under Erik ten Hag.
Nkunku’s goal record in Germany can not be ignored but 16 goals in 43 for Chelsea is a poor return by his high standards. Sure, he has not had consistent minutes at Stamford Bridge but his goal record and lack of continuity will put clubs off.
As well as United, Bayern Munich are interested in signing Nkunku and could accelerate their interest after a certain striker told Vincent Kompany that he wants to leave in January…
8) Darwin Nunez (Liverpool)
Don’t be confused; there have been reports linking Darwin Nunez with a Liverpool exit.
At the age of 25, he is still regarded a raw player, which is far from ideal. He is more refined than the player that joined from Benfica in July 2022 but still very frustrating to watch. If neither Jurgen Klopp nor Arne Slot can unlock his potential, we really don’t know who can.
What Darwin lacks in football IQ, he most certainly makes up for in effort. I spoke to Jeremie Aliadiere in November and he said he would love the Liverpool striker at Arsenal. He shocked me but his reasoning was compelling enough.
“I know he is at Liverpool but I am a massive fan of Darwin Nunez. Absolutely mad fan of the guy because I love his work ethic, his runs, his determination and I wish we had a player like him at Arsenal. That type of player, keeps bothering defenders, making runs in behind, stretching the defence, even though it’s not for him, it’s for the team, the others get massive rewards from it.
“I know people will say he needs five chances to score sometimes, he is not the best finisher, I am not bothered about this. For me, the effort and the work rate and the drama that he causes is worth everything.”
Take it from him, not us. He is a former Premier League striker after all.
7) Victor Boniface (Bayer Leverkusen)
Bayer Leverkusen’s Nigerian striker Victor Boniface has become something of a forgotten man after missing so much of last season through injury. He hit the ground running with 10 goals in his first 16 Bundesliga matches, including three braces in Leverkusen’s opening five league fixtures. An adductor injury ruled him out for over three months and injuries have hindered him again this campaign.
Similarly, everything was hunky-dory for Boniface and Leverkusen up until November, when he suffered a hamstring injury. He missed 11 matches as a result, returning as an unused substitute against Atletico Madrid on January 21. This will obviously be a big concern for interested clubs and a justifiable reason for transfer talk going quiet, as thus the reason he is only seventh on this list.
Boniface has 20 goals and 10 assists in only 33 Bundesliga appearances under Xabi Alonso and is evidently a fantastic No. 9. Injuries aside, there should be no doubt over Boniface’s ability to adapt to the Premier League. He excels with the ball at his feet, is quick, good in the air… basically everything you want in a striker. Boniface might be the killer Chelsea need up front because Nico Jackson is awfully silly in front of goal.
Unfortunately, it looks like he is off to Saudi Arabia. How disappointing.
6) Mathys Tel (Bayern Munich)
French teenager Mathys Tel has told Bayern that he is fed up sitting on the bench and there is interest from all around Europe. Chelsea have reportedly been chasing him all month and could make their move, even without the sale of Nkunku, who is conveniently a Bayern target himself.
Tel is very highly rated but minutes have been hard to come by in Munich. This was the case last season and the 19-year-old still signed a new five-year contract in March, being promised increased playing time. That has not happened under Vincent Kompany in 2024/25 and a January exit beckons.
There should be an abundance of interest in Tel. He is full of potential but capable of contributing straight away. Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and even Liverpool should be all over this. Tottenham can try, sure, but they won’t like what they hear back.
5) Jonathan David (Lille)
Has someone been more linked with the Premier League without coming close to joining a club in the 2020s? In a perpetually linked to the Premier League XI, Jonathan David is up front and captain, leading Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Adrien Rabiot and Julian Draxler into battle.
Just how David has not found himself in England yet is a mystery. He is so West Ham. The Canadian international was initially worth north of £50m when first linked with a move from Lille to Our League and that figure has consistently dropped to the stage where he is now available for around £10m having entered the final six months of his contract. Nobody took a punt last summer for £15m and now interested clubs would be as well waiting to sign him on a free at the end of 2024/25.
David is a fantastic, cheap option for so many Premier League teams this month. In today’s market, he will cost peanuts and his goal record speaks for itself. He has 82 in 164 in Ligue Un, eight in 15 in the Champions League and 31 in 59 appearances for Canada. Seriously, what is there not to like? He needs to find himself a new agent…
4) Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus)
Arsenal are reportedly looking into signing Dusan Vlahovic on loan until the end of the season, three years after he rejected them in favour of Juventus. Vlahovic’s time in Turin has been fairly underwhelming considering the club paid £70m to sign him from Fiorentina, but 53 goals in 127 matches is hardly poor, is it? He scored 49 in 108 for Fiorentina, so the big Serb is pretty much scoring at the same rate which convinced Juve to pay big money for him.
Arsenal reportedly being snubbed by Vlahovic was damaging in their quest for Champions League qualification in 2021/22 but they are a completely different team now. You could not judge Vlahovic for choosing Juve over them then and you would be wrong to criticise him if he joins the north London giants this month.
It is obvious that Mikel Arteta needs to sign a new striker and he might do just that after Gabriel Jesus suffered an ACL injury. In truth, it should not have taken a season-ending injury for Arteta to act in January. Vlahovic is out of contract in 18 months, which will make Juve very open to selling him this year, whether that be in January or at the end of the season, possibly as an option or obligation to buy after a loan.
3) Viktor Gyokeres (Sporting)
The top scorer of 2024 should realistically top this list yet here we are. The fact Viktor Gyokeres is banging them in for a Portuguese club scares us a little. It’s not quite Scotland but it’s not on the level of France or Germany. Spending big money on strikers from outside the top five leagues is always a risk but at least they are usually cheaper. But that is not the case with Gyokeres. The big Swede has an £84m release clause and is very unlikely to leave for less this month, though Sporting might be open to negotiation in the summer.
Gyokeres scored a ridiculous 52 goals for Sporting in 2024, which was 12 more than Robert Lewandowski, 13 more than Harry Kane, and 14 more than Erling Haaland.
That enough should convince teams to bite the bullet and Manchester United could be perfect for him now Ruben Amorim is the manager.
2) Victor Osimhen (Napoli/Galatasaray)
Napoli let Victor Osimhen join Turkish giants Galatasaray last September after his summer did not go to plan. He is only on loan and allowed to join another team permanently this month, if anyone even wants him.
Clubs seem very reluctant to sign Osimhen and we are not really sure why. Is there an attitude problem? There have been some very questionable things said in public by him and his agent, notably losing their cool at Napoli team-mate Kvaratskhelia and his agent over comments regarding a future Saudi Arabia move for the Nigerian.
Drama aside, he is a wonderful striker and rightly on the podium here. The 26-year-old was arguably the best striker in Europe when Napoli won Serie A in 2022/23, banging in 26 league goals in 32 matches. He was not as impressive the following season but still bagged 17 in 32 across all competitions and in 20 matches for Galatasaray this term, he has found the back of the net 16 times.
He is showing no signs of slowing down after failing to land a big transfer last summer and it is baffling that there is not more interest.
1) Alexander Isak (Newcastle United)
Like it or not, we are including Alexander Isak. A reported £150m asking price is more than enough to consider him available. Just expensive and available.
He is bloody brilliant – the perfect striker. Newcastle fans are in love with the Swede and so they should be. With 17 goals in 21 Premier League matches this season, Isak helped Eddie Howe’s side towards their best run of form for almost two years, when his goals helped his new team qualify for the Champions League for the first time in two decades.
Newcastle have put themselves in a decent position to qualify again this year and are adamant that their star striker is going nowhere. There is an asking price, though, which makes him unrealistic, not untouchable. There has been lots of talk about Newcastle needing one big sale to balance the books and if that does happen, it will be Isak, Anthony Gordon or Bruno Guimaraes who leaves.
He makes Arsenal favourites for the Premier League title and a move anywhere else in England seems unlikely. There is a bit of needle between the two clubs so the Gunners’ offer would have to meet that colossal valuation. It is extremely unlikely Isak leaves Newcastle but never say never.
