Nearly three years after missing out on Erling Haaland to Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United could have their own Erling Haaland in the form of Dusan Vlahovic.
This is because Dean Jones, the transfer insider of GiveMeSport, believes that the Juventus forward is ‘unbelievable’ and has similar attributes to Manchester City striker Haaland.
What is the latest on Manchester United target Dusan Vlahovic?
Despite spending more than £200 million on players during the summer in an attempt to boost their playing squad and improve on their 6th place finish, United are still in need of reinforcements in key areas, most notably in the striker department.
One player’s name who has been mentioned is Dusan Vlahovic, who is according to the Telegraph on a two-man shortlist, which includes Benjamin Sesko as United look to strengthen their forward options and prepare for life without Cristiano Ronaldo.
Due to the financial predicament of Juventus and their attempts to join the failed European Super League, it is clear that Juve need an injection of cash, so therefore, one player that they have put up on the market is forward Vlahovic, despite signing him for £66.6 million in the summer.
According to Martin Sartorio of Calcio Mercato, it is understood that a transfer bid of £87 million should be enough for Juventus to transfer the 22-year-old, who has been the subject of interest from Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Chelsea.
From a Juventus perspective, they will be in a strong negotiating position should a club come in for the Serbian as his £215,000 per-week contract will not end until the summer of 2026.
What did Dean Jones say about Vlahovic?
GiveMeSport transfer insider, Dean Jones was asked whether he would be a good fit for Manchester United and believes that his all round forward play puts him in a similar mould to Haaland, which Jones believes can make him a popular figure at Old Trafford.
“Vlahovic is a bit like Haaland.
“He is just unbelievable with what he can do – his positioning, his runs and his style of play. His confidence, at times, is ridiculous.”
How do the two strikers compare?
Despite Vlahovic only scoring 8 goals this season, and Haaland scoring 23 goals for Manchester City, there are parallels between the two strikers.
According to Fbref, which takes a detailed comparison of two players for example, it shows that both strikers registered a remarkably similar number of shots per 90 minutes last season, which shows that the 16-cap international gets into threatening situations.
One key trait that a Man United striker will need under Erik ten Hag is his ability to be good off the ball as well as on it. This is something that Vlahovic provides because according to sofascore, he averages 0.6 tackles and wins possession back 0.4 times in Serie A, which is higher than Haaland.
Due to his on and off the ball abilities, it would make him a valuable acquisition in the jigsaw puzzle for Erik ten Hag and his Manchester United side.
