Man Utd submit mega offer to sign Rashford upgrade who’s like Vini Jr

We are only 11 games into the Premier League season, but Manchester United fans have already been through a campaign’s worth of upheaval.

Following another dreadful start, Erik ten Hag was finally given the boot, and while Ruud van Nistelrooy has been able to stabilise the ship somewhat, all eyes are now on Ruben Amorim to see if he can lead the Red Devils back into the top four this season.

However, for that to happen, the 39-year-old will need his players to rediscover their best form, and while the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Andre Onana seem to be doing just that, some are still struggling.

Marcus Rashford, for example, has four goals and three assists in 18 games so far but only one goal and one assist in 11 league games, which might explain recent reports linking the club with a Ballon d’Or nominee who could replace him, a nominee compared to Vinícius Júnior.

Manchester United transfer news

According to a recent report from Spain, Manchester United are one of several sides intensely interested in Atalanta star Ademola Lookman.

In fact, the report claims that both United and Paris Saint-Germain have already made offers close to €100m for the Nigerian, which is about £84m.

Despite the sensational attacker’s undeniable importance to his team, the Bergamo side are supposedly willing to part ways with him for the fees being reported.

In all, signing Lookman would require a massive investment from United, but given his ability, it could prove worth it, especially as he could be an ideal Rashford upgrade, not to mention his comparisons to Vinícius Júnior.

How Lookman compares to Vinícius and Rashford

Okay, so before we look at Lookman’s recent record and how it stacks up to Rashford’s, let’s first examine this comparison to Ballon d’Or runner-up Vinícius Júnior.

The comparison itself stems from FBref, which compares players in similar positions across Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and in this instance, has concluded that the Brazilian is the number one most similar forward to the Nigerian star.

Now, to get a better idea of how this conclusion was reached, we can examine the underlying metrics in which the pair rank most closely, metrics including but not limited to non-penalty expected goals plus assists, progressive passes, passing accuracy, passes and carries into the final third, crosses into the penalty area and carries, all per 90.

So, with that comparison to one of the game’s leading wingers out of the way, how does the former Everton ace stack up against United’s homegrown talent when it comes to output?

Unfortunately for the Manchester-born ace, it’s hardly a competition at all, as, since the start of last season, he has scored just 12 goals and provided nine assists in 61 games, which equates to an average of a goal involvement once every 2.90 games.

In comparison, Atalanta’s “unbelievable” dynamo, as dubbed by former Arsenal player Sead Kolasinac, has found the back of the net on 25 occasions and provided 15 assists in 59 appearances over the same period, which results in a far more impressive average of a goal involvement once every 1.47 games.

On top of being far more dangerous at the moment, the 27-year-old is also incredibly versatile, and while he’s played more games at left-wing than anywhere else, he has plenty of experience playing off the right, at centre-forward and even in attacking midfield, so he’d also allow Amorim far more tactical flexibility when on the pitch.

Ultimately, Rashford could still come good for United, but based on the last season and a bit, it’s crystal clear that Lookman is the far more dangerous attacker of the pair, and therefore, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co should be doing what they can to sign him in 2025.