Man Utd plot bid to sign “future Ballon d’Or winner”

With a new stadium on the horizon, the future certainly looks bright for Manchester United and Ruben Amorim’s side.

However, will Amorim still be in charge by the time that new arena is built? It’s not looking likely at this rate.

While there may well be a light at the end of the tunnel in several years’ time, how does the Portuguese negotiate his side through the choppy waters of 2025?

The former Sporting boss has not won 20 of his 33 games at the helm and it may not be long before Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co get tired of what they’re watching.

That said, this isn’t a project that will be fixed or completed overnight. They need to give Amorim the time he needs to craft a squad rebuild and get United back on track. They will not do so with this current crop of players.

So, how could they strengthen in the summer?

Manchester United’s summer transfer targets

One of the biggest problem areas for United this season has been their forward line. As a result, it’s not much of a surprise to see the club linked with a number of attackers.

The Premier League could be the area they target with the likes of Wolves star Matheus Cunha, Ipswich’s Liam Delap and Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers all reported to be attracting interest from United.

While improving their firepower should be of utmost importance, they could do with some more creativity. Aside from Bruno Fernandes, they seriously lack in that department.

That might explain links to Lyon’s Rayan Cherki, therefore. A scorer against the Red Devils in France last week, reports from Spain suggest the playmaker is now on United’s radar.

The report notes that both the Old Trafford side and Chelsea are fighting it out for the player’s signature and considering his contract expires in 2026, a bargain £20m fee could be agreed.

It’s stated that both English giants are ‘willing to bid’ that amount in order to complete a deal over the summer. A deal could be complicated, however, by Lyon’s desire to keep the 21-year-old.

Why Cherki could be Man United’s new Juan Mata

The hype surrounding Cherki has only been growing in recent years with his displays in Ligue 1 and in continental football certainly dazzling defenders and onlookers.

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Described as a “future Ballon d’Or winner” by the Athletic’s Alex Barker, the French youngster has registered some jaw-dropping numbers this term.

While not a rampant goalscorer, finding the net on 11 times in 38 games, he is one of the most creative forwards in the game right now, posting 18 assists.

Capable of playing off the right wing or as an attacking midfielder, he is primarily left-footed so it’s clear to see where the comparison to a certain Juan Mata lie.

Mata – a creative marvel in the Premier League – there have been few better in English football at carving out regular goal-scoring opportunities.

Like Cherki, the Spaniard was capable of playing of playing in similar areas. 120 of his Premier League appearances came off the right and 110 came as a no.10.

They also share very similar traits. The table below reveals all.

When comparing the metrics above, we’ve taken the best season of Mata’s career in England. That was at Chelsea but he dropped some fabulous numbers, posting 12 goals and 12 assists in the Premier League.

During that campaign, he registered a very similar number of key passes per game to Cherki, while their pass success rate was identical. They were also fouled on a similar number of occasions.

The largest difference, and this is a great point of difference for the Frenchman, is that he is a better dribbler. He notably ranks inside the best 7% of positionally similar players in Europe’s top five leagues for successful take-ons over the last year.

This is a genius footballer and if he can evoke memories of Mata in English football, United would have an outstanding player on their hands here.

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