The fallout from Manchester United’s 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Brentford in the English capital this weekend is still being felt back in the northwest of England after the Red Devils have gone into the week propping up the Premier League for the first time in decades.
With no goals from open play and questions in all areas of the park, especially up front, it would be a considerable understatement to suggest that United needs reinforcements in the forward line under new boss Erik ten Hag.
To the credit of the manager and the club, multiple possible targets were identified this summer in the vein of Erling Haaland, Darwin Núñez, Benjamin Šeško, Saša Kalajdžić, Cody Gakpo, and Antony, signaling the club’s understanding that new blood is needed up front to usher in a proper rebuild on the pitch.
That has yet to take hold this summer, however, but there could be a new twist in the tale at Old Trafford according to ESPN’s Julien Laurens, linking the Red Devils with interest in Brazilian international forward Matheus Cunha.
Matheus Cunha is a target for Manchester United, according to my sources in Spain. He is on their shortlist for the forward they are looking for this summer. He is 23, still has four years left in his contract with Atletico Madrid but would be keen to join United. @ESPNFC
— Julien Laurens (@LaurensJulien) August 15, 2022
The 23-year-old former Hertha BSC and RB Leipzig forward first broke into the European game in 2017 when he arrived at Swiss outfit FC Sion from Coritiba, scoring 10 goals in his first season in the Swiss Super League before moving to Leipzig the following season.
Despite being a finalist for the Puskás award in 2018, Cunha never made good on his time in Saxony and hardly faired much better in the German capital with Hertha, and he arrived in Madrid last summer looking to turn the page.
Should the report from TalkSport turn out to be true, it would suggest that United could now be turning to panic purchases in a bid to secure players given their struggles this summer, with €50m a small fortune for a player who has never scored more than seven league goals during spells in the Bundesliga and La Liga.
Given the struggles at the club currently, surely what United, and Ten Hag, require are players that can bring unquestionable quality that have a good chance of hitting the ground running to help the club dig their way out of a current scenario that is knocking on the door of disaster.
