Perhaps the best January signing Manchester United have ever made was a deal to bring Bruno Fernandes to Old Trafford. He signed from Sporting CP for upwards of £67.7m including add-ons, the fifth most expensive January deal of all time.
Fernandes’ impact on the club has been unfathomable. He is the United captain and has played 268 times for the club. In that time, he has scored 88 goals and registered 77 assists, a remarkable record.
Perhaps United’s most recent reported January target can have the same impact as their Portuguese Magnifico.
Man Utd’s search for a striker
The player in question here is Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic. According to a report from Graeme Bailey, the Red Devils are thought to have enquired about his current ‘situation at Juventus’, and could pursue a late move.
They will face competition from some big Premier League rivals. North Londoners Arsenal and top four contenders Aston Villa have also asked Juve about the striker’s situation. Given it seems unlikely he will sign a new deal, there is a chance they could bring him in.
Why Vlahovic would be a good signing
Despite a lack of opportunities under Juventus manager Thiago Motta, Vlahoivc has still been in impressive form during the 2024/25 campaign. He has played 28 games so far this term and has 13 goals and two assists in that time.
Perhaps the striker’s most significant contribution this campaign came against Manchester City in the Champions League. He scored one goal in Juve’s 2-0 win over the Premier League champions. It is certainly a strike that will resonate with the Red Devils fans.
Should United get a deal for the Serbian “monster” – as hailed by analyst Ben Mattinson – over the line, he could be a perfect alternative signing to Bayern Munich attacker Mathys Tel. The Frenchman seems unlikely to make the move to Old Trafford, according to Jamie Jackson.
Now, there is no doubt that Vlahovic and Tel are slightly different players. The Juve man is an out-and-out centre-forward, whereas Tel is more versatile and can play up front or out on the wing.
However, United need goals at the minute, so it is surely not much of an issue for the Red Devils. In fact, to get an idea of how good of an alternative Tel would be to Vlahovic, you can compare them statistically on FBref.
Using data from the past two domestic top-flight seasons in Italy and Germany respectively, Vlahovic’s natural striker instinct shines through, as shown by his expected goals tally of 0.65xG compared to just 0.31xG for Tel.
Furthermore, the Serbian international is someone who can bring teammates into the game and actually averages 0.93 key passes per 90 minutes over the past two seasons. That is slightly more than Tel, who plays 0.9 key passes per game.
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Vlahovic & Tel key stats compared |
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|---|---|---|
|
Stat (per 90) |
Vlahvoic |
Tel |
|
Expected goals |
0.65xG |
0.31xG |
|
Goals per shot on target |
0.35 |
0.33 |
|
Goals |
0.59 |
0.48 |
|
Shot-creating actions |
2.53 |
3.38 |
|
Key passes |
0.93 |
0.9 |
|
Stats from FBref |
||
Signing Vlahoivc could be the perfect alternative move to Tel. The Frenchman seems unattainable for United now, but the chance to sign Vlahovic, a “deadly” striker as Mattinson described him, might be too good to be true.
This could be United’s dream signing, and perhaps end up being their best January addition since Fernandes five years ago.
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