Manchester United join Arsenal in hunt for 19 year old striker

Manchester United have reportedly joined Arsenal and Newcastle United in the race for promising 19-year-old striker Hugo Ekitike this summer, with the Reims striker having netted 9 times in Ligue 1 this season.

Ralf Rangnick recently revealed the plight of the Manchester United forward line, claiming that the Red Devils had no ‘modern’ striker in the squad, with Edinson Cavani leaving the club in the summer, Cristiano Ronaldo now 37 years old, and the futures of both Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial in doubt.

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – MAY 02: Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Brentford at Old Trafford on May 02, 2022 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

‘Cristiano is not a central striker or does not want to play in that position,” said Rangnick.

‘It’s obvious that the club needs, I would say, at least, two new strikers who just give this team more quality and more options. I wouldn’t even call it wingers.

‘Two strikers and modern strikers, that do not necessarily have to be wingers.

And, speaking on the striker situation again ahead of his side’s clash with Brighton and Hove Albion, he revealed that he pleaded for a striker in January, but to no avail.

‘The answer [from the board] at the time was no, there is no player on the market that can really help us,’ he said.

‘I still believe we should have tried in those 48 hours,” said Rangnick. ‘The board sees it the same way. They agreed. But they also spoke to the scouting department at the same time as me. The answer was no.’

Ekitike an option

Now, as per the Daily Mail, young striker Ekitike could be an option for the Red Devils. However, they will not be alone in their admiration of the teenager, who Newcastle United were interested in during the January transfer window but ultimately remained in France.

‘Ekitike has emerged as a potential target but United could face competition from other Premier League clubs such as Arsenal and Newcastle, as well as Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich’, the report claims.

Should he make the move, the Red Devils will be hoping that he can offer a better long term solution than their last import from France, Martial, who is currently enjoying a thoroughly underwhelming spell at Sevilla.

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Premier League table

#	Team	MP	D	P
1	Manchester City	34	63	83
2	Liverpool FC	34	64	82
3	Chelsea FC	34	39	66
4	Arsenal FC	34	13	63
5	Tottenham Hotspur	34	20	61
6	Manchester United	36	5	58
7	West Ham United	35	7	52
8	Wolverhampton Wanderers	34	1	49
9	Brighton & Hove Albion	35	-8	44
10	Newcastle United	35	-16	43
11	Leicester City	33	-6	42
12	Crystal Palace	34	3	41
13	Aston Villa	33	-2	40
14	Brentford FC	35	-11	40
15	Southampton FC	35	-17	40
16	Burnley FC	34	-15	34
17	Leeds United	34	-34	34
18	Everton FC	33	-20	32
19	Watford FC	34	-37	22
20	Norwich City	34	-49	21

Player	Team	Goals
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	22
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	19
Ronaldo, Cristiano	Manchester United	18
Jota, Diogo	Liverpool FC	15
Mane, Sadio	Liverpool FC	14
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	13
Toney, Ivan	Brentford FC	12
Zaha, Wilfried	Crystal Palace	12
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	11
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	11
Mahrez, Riyad	Manchester City	11
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	10
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	10
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	10
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	10
Pukki, Teemu	Norwich City	10
Sterling, Raheem	Manchester City	10
Raphinha	Leeds United	10
Vardy, Jamie	Leicester City	10
Smith-Rowe, Emile	Arsenal FC	10

Player	Team	Red Cards	Yellow Cards
Bednarek, Jan	Southampton FC	0	10
Tarkowski, James	Burnley FC	0	10
Bissouma, Yves	Brighton & Hove Albion	0	10
Firpo, Junior	Leeds United	0	10
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	0	9
Gallagher, Conor	Crystal Palace	0	9
Neves, Ruben	Wolverhampton Wanderers	0	9
Brownhill, Josh	Burnley FC	0	9
Mings, Tyrone	Aston Villa	0	9
Xhaka, Granit	Arsenal FC	1	8
Mctominay, Scott	Manchester United	0	9
Salisu, Mohammed	Southampton FC	0	8
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	0	7
Richarlison	Everton FC	0	8
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	1	7
Alonso, Marcos	Chelsea FC	0	8
Moreno, Rodrigo	Leeds United	0	8
Cash, Matty	Aston Villa	0	8
McGinn, John	Aston Villa	0	8
Joelinton	Newcastle United	0	8

Player	Team	Assists
Salah, Mohamed	Liverpool FC	13
Alexander-Arnold, Trent	Liverpool FC	12
Robertson, Andy	Liverpool FC	10
Kane, Harry	Tottenham Hotspur	9
Mount, Mason	Chelsea FC	9
Pogba, Paul	Manchester United	9
Bowen, Jarrod	West Ham United	8
Jesus, Gabriel	Manchester City	8
Kulusevski, Dejan	Tottenham Hotspur	8
Son, Heung Min	Tottenham Hotspur	7
Lacazette, Alexandre	Arsenal FC	7
Barnes, Harvey	Leicester City	7
Mbeumo, Bryan	Brentford FC	7
Cancelo, Joao	Manchester City	7
De Bruyne, Kevin	Manchester City	6
Saka, Bukayo	Arsenal FC	6
Fernandes, Bruno	Manchester United	6
Dennis, Emmanuel	Watford FC	6
Antonio, Michail	West Ham United	6
Maddison, James	Leicester City	6