Manchester United can sign ideal Cristiano Ronaldo replacement next year
Uncertainty about Cristiano Ronaldo's future at Man United is causing concern about where the goals will come from.
The prospect of Manchester United starting the 2022/23 Premier League campaign without Cristiano Ronaldo is not something that is likely to have crossed the minds of too many United supporters until recently.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner — who is yet to report back for pre-season training — spoke glowingly about Erik ten Hag before last season had even finished, outlining how excited he was to start working with the highly-rated Dutchman. Less than two months on, Ronaldo wants to leave Old Trafford, leaving United in a perilous position with around a month until the new season starts.
As reported by the Manchester Evening News earlier this week, the 37-year-old is disappointed by United's slow start to the summer transfer window and is "upset" by the fact that the squad has been forced to accept a 25 per cent reduction in their salaries. He is also desperate to play Champions League football following United's failure to qualify for the competition this forthcoming season.
With that said, you can understand Ronaldo's stance; he is one of the greatest players of all-time and wants to play in Europe's premier club competition, rubbing shoulders with the game's elite. United aren't able to give Ronaldo that luxury. Not this coming season, anyway.
Although United are remaining defiant in their stance over his future, insisting he is not for sale, the prospect of United losing Ronaldo this summer is a worry; not only would they be losing their star attraction, but they would also be losing their only reputable goal scorer. He found the net on 24 occasions last season and United have won just one game that he has not featured in since he returned to Old Trafford almost a year ago.
Therefore, should he depart this summer, United are going to have find a top replacement, not least because they have already waved goodbye to Edinson Cavani. But finding someone on Ronaldo's level will prove an impossible task.
To complicate matters further, United are still working on several other fronts to improve the squad; they want a centre-back, two midfielders and a right-sided winger. Signing players to fill those voids will eat into their budget, making it more difficult to source a big-name replacement for Ronaldo, certainly this summer. Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez would have been the obvious candidates but their signatures are no longer up for grabs, following big-money moves to Manchester City and Liverpool, respectively.
That means United might be forced to source a stop-gap signing for a season, before diving deep into their pockets for an adequate, long-term replacement next summer. If that does prove to be the case, they could do far worse than turning to RB Leipzig ace Christopher Nkunku, who was heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford earlier this year.
The Frenchman recently put pen to paper on a fresh contract extension, keeping him at the Bundesliga club until 2026. Various reports have suggested that his new contract features a release clause worth €60million (£51.3m), with that becoming active from the summer of 2023.
That means that United, along with several other leading European heavyweights, may express an interest in the Frenchman next summer, especially if he continues his recent breathtaking form. Nkunku, 24, netted 31 goals and grabbed 20 assists in all competitions for Leipzig in 2021/22.
It was the best season of his career by a country mile, meaning some people might be correct to suggest that he could prove to be a 'one season wonder'. Time will, of course, tell. However, at the age of 24, it is fair to presume that the best is yet to come. His career is on upward curve and all eyes will be fixated on him again this coming season to see if he can prove himself as a seasoned goal scorer.
If he does, United might know their ideal replacement for Ronaldo long before his reported release clause becomes active. Nkunku, although much of his play comes from the centre, also has the ability drop a bit deeper and drift wide. In a fluid front-three built on pace and trickery, he could be just the ticket.
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