The huge £93m Man United double striker transfer deal that could revolutionise Amorim's struggling side

Let’s start by putting it politely – things have not gone according to Ruben Amorim’s grand plan, and picking out the faults most in need of fixing is something of a challenge. Just about every part of the team needs an overhaul. One thing that remains especially clear, however, is that this is a team which needs to start scoring goals again.

Manchester United have been anaemic across the front three over the course of the current campaign, and despite the consistently excellent service of Bruno Fernandes only four Premier League teams have scored fewer goals – the three set to be relegated, and Everton, hardly a side noted for attacking flair.

In short, it won’t matter much what Ineos and Amorim do to shore up the defence or beef up the midfield if they don’t fix the front line. As it happens, one piece may be close to falling into place already – widespread reports suggest that United plan to trigger the £62.5m release clause in Matheus Cunha’s Wolves contract. But given Amorim’s playing style and the dearth of talent across the attack, Cunha may not be enough…

Why Manchester United need more than Matheus Cunha

Assuming United do indeed get a deal for Cunha done, then it will at least give them a striker capable of scoring the goals they’ve been lacking. The Brazilian has notched up 15 goals from just 7.9xG this season, and has a lethal touch none of United’s current crop can claim to have.

Crucially, however, he’s far more than just a goalscorer. Able to play wide, attack the channels or drop deeper to find pockets of space, he’s exactly the kind of forward that Amorim seemed to prize at Sporting – mobile, versatile, able to drag defenders out of position and play provider as well as goalscorer.

Amorim wants a fluid and dynamic front three with forwards who can play quick interchanges in close proximity to each other and come at the defence from multiple angles. Given that, it’s no surprise that he seems to have prioritised Cunha as a summer signing, especially given that we’re talking about a striker who has provided 13 assists over the past two league seasons.

The problem, however, is that if Cunha is to be deployed in such a free-ranging role, they need another forward who can play a similar game. Fernandes can pick up plenty of the slack, but the other obvious options in the squad are either desperately out of form this season (Rasmus Højlund), lack the lethal touch expected (Alejandro Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee) or may be needed to play in other positions (Amad Diallo).

Maybe a fully fit Mason Mount – if such a thing exists – could pick up some of the slack next year, and maybe one of the younger players comes good at some point, but as it stands, signing Cunha only solves one problem while creating another: If he’s dropping deep or getting wider, who does he pass the ball to?

Plenty of reports suggest that United are also targeting a more traditional number nine, and that seems to the means by which Amorim hopes to untangle that particular knot. Cost will be an issue, given reports which suggest that the club has significant cash flow concerns, but going half-cocked at the rebuild is unlikely to end well. If United are to thrive next season, Cunha probably can’t be the only player brought in.

The £30m answer to Manchester United’s striker problem

Besides Cunha, quite a few forwards have had their names linked with a move to Old Trafford, and picking apart rumour and serious reporting is, quite frankly, rather challenging – but there are two players at roughly the same price point who could fit the bill.

Liam Delap is one such player. Now relegated after an impressive first (and last) season at Ipswich Town, a release clause in the 22-year-old striker’s contract would see him cost £30m. Quite a few teams, both in England and abroad, are unsurprisingly interested.

An alternative suggestion thrown up by the gossip columns is Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta. There isn’t such a cast-iron price tag on the Frenchman, but with just one year left on his contract at Selhurst Park, it’s likely that a fee similar to Delap’s could be negotiated.

Both offer different takes on the old-fashioned ideal of a striker. Delap is quick, nimble, and an excellent target for direct passes, although Amorim’s methods mean that his acceleration is likely more relevant than his ability to beat a high press. Mateta, meanwhile, although hardly sluggish, is more physical, and much more adept at playing with his back to goal and thriving in tight-marking situations.

Delap would help Amorim to execute his vision of a fast-moving front line which can pull defences around with short, sharp runs, while Mateta’s hold-up play would help the attack to play in close proximity to each other and execute those sharp passing moves.

Both, of course, are excellent goalscorers. Delap has scored 12 goals from 9.1xG over the course of a campaign in which he was routinely starved of meaningful service, while Mateta has managed 14 from 12.1xG – perhaps, then, Delap is a slightly better finisher, but it’s a small sample size upon which to build a clear-cut conclusion.

What Amorim really wants, of course, is someone like Viktor Gyökeres, who operated to such breathtakingly dangerous effect at Sporting – a striker who can hit the channels and drag defenders around (like Delap) while also having the physical profile and awareness of his passing options to play as an old-fashioned number nine (like Mateta).

Both, of course, only offer a part of the puzzle, but Gyökeres himself would cost twice as much and seems likely to head to a side like Arsenal, who are seemingly closer to silverware. Perhaps it’s doing Delap and Mateta (especially the latter, a more well-rounded forward than is sometimes appreciated) a disservice to portray them as half of a Gyökeres, but in terms of Amorim’s job to piece the puzzle together, it’s not an entirely baseless comparison.

Of course, the idea may be that Cunha picks up most of the slack, with Delap or Mateta being the less complete but still effective lieutenants – the Pedro Gonçalves to Cunha’s Gyökeres, to stretch the comparison somewhere close to breaking point.

In which case, either could work just as well. If Amorim sees his side looking for balls over the top more often, Delap is surely the target. If he wants to play a more possession-based game which works the ball into the area rather than getting there quickly, Mateta makes more sense. Both, on current form at least, would be upgrades on the options available.

United may not have a free choice, of course. Delap, in particular, will have many suitors, and if United can’t offer Champions League football by way of winning the Europa League, then neither player may be all that keen to move. Then there’s the financial considerations - £30m or so may not be an unreasonable amount these days, but add Cunha on and you’re spending north of £90m at a time when the club is cutting staff costs and increasing car parking prices due to a financial shortfall.

Still, if the club wants to start winning again, and to start challenging for top fours and titles, they need to do this right. They can’t afford another season of Højlund and Garnacho playing at their current level, and betting on both to come good seems unlikely. Perhaps £92.5m or so would feel like money well spent if everything clicks…