da winzada777： Manchester United's 3-2 home comeback versus Aston Villa on Boxing Day was impressive, and it could just kickstart their Premier League campaign.
da bet nacional： Despite picking up three points and scoring three goals, United are still sixth, and only Burnley, Sheffield United, and Crystal Palace have scored fewer goals this season.
Man Utd could land Depay 2.0 with move for “electric” £35m Antony replacement
Erik ten Hag will look to sign a new winger in January to bolster his attack.
ByTom Lever
With that in mind, Erik ten Hag will look to address his side's lack of goals by signing a new attacker in January.
Man Utd transfers latest – Viktor Gyokeres
As per Portuguese outlet Correio de Manha – via SportWitness – Man Utd are among the many clubs that are interested in signing Swedish star Viktor Gyokeres, who could become Zlatan Ibrahimovic 2.0 for the Red Devils.
Sporting are said to have put a €100m (£87m) release clause in the 25-year-old's contract, and they will not accept anything less.
However, the Portuguese club are desperate to keep hold of their star striker until the end of the season at least, and the Red Devils may struggle to complete the deal this winter due to financial fair play guidelines.
How Viktor Gyokeres compares to Rasmus Hojlund
After being a "game changer" for Coventry City in the Championship, according to Statman Dave, Gyokeres was snapped up by Sporting in the summer for just £17.5m. Since then, he has hit the ground running, scoring 17 goals and registering eight assists across all competitions in just 20 appearances.
Ten Hag could do with some of those goals, as Rasmus Hojlund has only netted once in the Premier League all season, which was the winner versus Villa. Despite that, the £87m move for Gyokeres indicates that he could replace the Dane in the starting XI, but how do the two strikers compare based on statistics from their club's respective European competitions?
Goals
0.84
0.93
Touches
47.52
21.15
Touches (att pen)
3.63
3.43
Shot-creating actions
3.35
1.86
Passes completed
22.64
9.09
Successful take-ons
1.68
0.93
As you can see by the stats, Hojlund and Gyokeres have completely different styles of play. The latter loves to get involved in play, has touches on the ball, and is more of an all-rounder. The Sporting forward also thrives when dribbling and, surprisingly, has very few touches in the penalty box, yet he is always clinical in front of goal.
Hojlund prefers to stay on the edge of the game and will only get involved with the build-up phase if necessary. The 20-year-old is at his best in the box, where he can feed on crosses using his pure goal-scoring instinct. In short, the ex-Atalanta player needs the ball given to him on a plate, but Gyokeres will create his own luck and score from nothing.
Despite both players being typical number nines, there is the potential that they can play alongside each other. Ten Hag could replicate the same attacking strategy as Pep Guardiola, with Hojlund in the lone Erling Haaland striker role and Gyokeres taking on Julien Alvarez’s responsibility a little deeper, as the Swede and the Argentine both share similar stats, such as low touches in the box but plenty around it.
Equally, Gyokeres could look to emulate the impact that his compatriot Ibrahimovic enjoyed at Old Trafford during his brief stay in Manchester, the veteran marksman netting 28 goals in all competitions during the 2016/16 campaign.
While set to be a far more youthful addition than the now-retired icon was, much like Ibrahimovic – who stands at 6 foot 5 – the 6 foot 2 Gyokeres can also offer a real physical and prolific focal point in attack, something that Ten Hag's men are crying out for at present.
The pair are also alike due to their ability to link play effectively, with Ibrahimovic having provided a respectable haul of ten assists in his solitary full season at United, while his fellow Swede, for instance, racked up 12 assists in England's second-tier last term.
Overall, not only would signing Gyokeres perhaps secure a dream successor to the enigmatic Zlatan, but it could also provide a rotation option for Hojlund as well as even a deadly partner for the Dane, increasing Man United’s goal output dramatically.
Although the fee is large, it may be worth taking a chance on the ex-Coventry finisher.