Manchester United are planning to bring in a new striker in the summer window, with a number of different options already linked with Ruben Amorim's side. One of those reasonably priced goalscorers could be Juventus' Vlahovic, who could only need £25 million to complete a move this summer due to contract reasons.

Vlahovic joined Juventus in 2022 for a £67 million transfer fee, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract that expires next year. This season, Vlahovic's contract extension with the club has been blocked, and the Serbian centre-forward has lost his place in the main squad after new manager Thiago Silva went on loan to Paris Saint-Germain's Muani.

United are said to have approached Vlahovic back in January and the Red Devils were on the radar of him as early as he was still at Fiorentina. Juventus are now willing to sell for £25 million and the goalscorer, who has scored 14 goals this season, could be considered by United in the summer window.

Manchester United have been rumoured to be linked with the likes of Osimhen and Djekereish in recent months, and the most recent favourite striker has been Crystal Palace's Frenchman Jean-Philippe Mateta. Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano says these may be true, but the final signing is still undecided, and the club may have to wait until Champions League qualification is confirmed or not before making a choice.

Romano said: "There are reports of Osimhen, Dzhecherish and Mateta, and there will be more. The reality is that United have yet to make any decisions about their new striker. The budget will have a key impact, so it's not clear who United will sign at this time, and there's no progress yet."

In the Premier League, with only 10 games remaining, Manchester United are as many as 15 points behind the Champions League places, and it is already difficult to achieve a place in next season's Champions League or even the Europa League through the rankings. However, the team will host Real Sociedad in the second leg of the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday, and if they can knock out their opponents to advance, they can retain the possibility of winning the Europa League and going straight to the Champions League. Manchester United remain the only unbeaten team in European competition this season.

If he qualifies for the Champions League, Sir Jim Ratcliffe will have a higher transfer budget and better players, as playing in the Champions League will bring hundreds of millions of pounds to the expected revenue of Premier League teams. If they miss the Champions League or even have no European competition, United will have to save money and bring in new signings at a lower level, like Mateta, who doesn't mind not playing in the Champions League.

The only thing that is certain is that Manchester United's current centre-forward is lacking. Recently, the €42.5 million summer signing Zirkze has been praised by Red Devils fans, but he was still omitted from the Netherlands' Nations League squad, and Dutch boss Ronald Koeman has been blunt: he looks okay at Manchester United, but he is still not good enough. The stats show that Zirkze has scored just two goals in 18 games. His shooting skills are clearly not at the level of a centre-forward, with just 25 shots on goal in 28 Premier League games, an average of less than one per game.

Koeman explained: "Zirkze didn't make our primary list because I don't think he's good enough at the moment. Especially when it comes to turning and passing the ball, he often makes mistakes. Yes, in principle, condition and fitness are always the most important criteria, but this is not always possible. We have a lot of centre-backs and midfielders, but we have limited personnel up front. But even so, I still think you have to qualify for the selection, I don't think he deserves it now, and that could change next time."

While Amorim believes Zirkze's recent form has improved, the United boss said: "I think some of the players are improving. I think Joshua [Zilkze] has changed in his position and he's improving."

But that improvement wasn't enough, as the strikers were too weak and United could be on the verge of setting the worst goal record in Premier League history, surpassing Louis van Gaal's 2015/16 season when he scored 49. The Reds have scored just 34 goals in 28 league games so far this season, and at that rate, the team will finish the season with 46 goals.

United's overall slump and poor record have clearly affected the rest of the players, with centre-back De Ligt dropped, like Zirkze, dropped by the Dutch side.