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Manchester United put in arguably their worst display of the season so far, losing for the first time at Old Trafford against Bournemouth on Saturday.
The 0-3 thrashing was indicative of the season the club is having — wildly swinging from one extreme to the other without any real consistency and with the players picking and choosing when to play.
Manager Erik ten Hag’s time at the club seems to be drawing to a close at this rate with his transfers and team selection all coming under the scanner.
Despite a horrendous display against Newcastle last week, the Dutchman still opted to play Anthony Martial from the start against the Cherries. And the Frenchman was lacklustre, to say the least.
United forwards have been so poor
How he remains at the club despite seven years of underperformance remains a mystery. His replacement and new recruit Rasmus Hojlund has fared little better, as he is yet to open his account in the Premier League.
Last season’s top scorer Marcus Rashford is looking like a lost cause at the moment and United have scored the lowest amount of goals among the top 14 teams in the English top flight.
It is clear to see that additional firepower is required as soon as possible but whether it can be brought in January remains doubtful due to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s delayed entry.
Club scouts, however, seem to have stumbled upon the ideal target — Lois Openda of RB Leipzig, whose goals in the Champions League against Manchester City showed his class.
There was plenty of interest in the Belgium international over the summer after his exploits for RC Lens in Ligue 1 where the 23-year-old notched 21 goals while registering four assists and emerged as the fourth top-scorer in the league.
He earned himself a €38.5 million to the Bundesliga outfit and has since scored 14 goals and provided three assists in 22 appearances across all competitions.
According to The Daily Mirror, United are looking at the Belgian as their prime target next summer if they manage to move on Martial and Jadon Sancho.
“Manchester United are tracking RB Leipzig striker Lois Openda as they line up replacements for Anthony Martial and Jadon Sancho next summer.
Openda emerges as a prime target
“A senior United scout – who was checking on Leipzig’s French defender Castello Lukeba – reported back to boss Erik ten Hag on Openda’s dazzling display at The Etihad and it’s believed the club have made him a serious target.
“Leipzig know they have a real asset on their hands with Openda who has already wowed the Bundesliga with his speed, direct threat and goals and his value is thought to have already more than doubled to £75 million.”
A January deal might be too difficult considering Leipzig value him at £75 million and it will be interesting to see if INEOS go down the route of buying British players once they come in.
Tottenham are also said to be interested and more teams are expected to join the race considering his exploits thus far in Germany.
