‘Fresh talks’ – insiders reveal Manchester United still pushing to sign £60m striker

Manchester United are running a serious risk of leaving the 2025 summer transfer market empty-handed at the striker position, which is by far their biggest position of need.

The partnership of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee has proven wholly inadequate, as both young men were much better off in Serie A and don’t seem to fit the Premier League, let alone the pressure demanded of a Manchester United striker.

Clearly, the Red Devils need a proven commodity who can reliably score more than 20 goals per season, just as they had strikers like this in their peak days more than a decade ago, whereas they currently have two overmatched boys who can barely muster 10.

Manchester United have already lost out on dream targets, as Alexander Isak is likely bound for Liverpool – along with young phenom Hugo Ekitike – and their main priority, Ruben Amorim’s former Sporting CP pupil Viktor Gyokeres, is ready for a transfer to another more successful rival in Arsenal.

The options are thinning out for Manchester United, and it speaks volumes that one of their most frequently linked names is Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson, whom the Blues are almost actively pushing away from the club at a bloated price.

Manchester United are looking at proven Premier League strikers

Manchester United are wisely not taking the bait to spend 100 million on Jackson, but they are looking at an even more well-rounded Premier League option as an alternative.

According to a new transfer update from Ben Jacobs and Alex Crook of talkSPORT, Manchester United have held “fresh talks” with Aston Villa over a transfer for star striker Ollie Watkins.

Currently, Villa are still sticking to a 60 million pound valuation for the man who backed up Harry Kane for the England national team at the 2024 European Championships.

However, Manchester United unsurprisingly feel that 60 million pounds is “too high” for the 29-year-old No. 9. They will reportedly make their move for Watkins if Aston Villa reduce their asking price.

Villa have no reason to sell such a valuable player to them, as Watkins’s skill set is difficult to find in the Premier League. It’s also a case of Man United settling a little bit, because Watkins is more of an all-around profile than a true killer in front of goal like Isak or Gyokeres.

Still, Watkins has been one of the best in the Premier League over the past couple of seasons. Although he cooled off a bit last season as Villa did, he still had 16 goals and 8 assists after a whopping 19 and 13 the season before. So even a “down” year was way, way beyond what Manchester United have gotten from their strikers lately.