Man United can sign 200-goal Premier League free agent after Serie A move blocked - opinion
Man United are looking to sign a striker this summer, and could decide to look at the free agent market.
Manchester United are trying to improve on a budget this summer under Ruben Amorim, but despite that, they have already spent over £60m on Matheus Cunha, and are expected to make an improved bid to sign Bryan Mbeumo for over £60m too.
Furthermore, United also want to sign a number nine, but won’t have much budget to do so, unless they manage to sell the likes of Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford and Antony first.
Alternatively, they could look at the free agent market, and have already been linked with former Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin; however, the English attacker isn’t the only free agent that Amorim could go after this summer.
Man United should sign Jamie Vardy
One of the most established strikers available this summer is former Leicester City attacker Jamie Vardy, who left the King Power Stadium after a historic 13-year spell with the club. He helped them to a Premier League title in 2015/16, and became a club legend, scoring 200 goals in 500 appearances.
Vardy has been linked with moves to several Championship clubs, but also European clubs, as he recently saw a move to Serie A side Genoa blocked. According to Italian outlet La Repubblica, Vardy’s move was all but confirmed, but it was vetoed by Genoa and former Crystal Palace manager Patrick Viera, so he remains a free agent.
SportBIBLE have said that Rangers, Como, Nottingham Forest, Wrexham and Everton are all amongst the favourites to sign the 38-year-old, but United should consider bringing him in.
Vardy’s scoring record speaks for itself, comparing last season for Vardy with Calvert-Lewin’s for Everton, Amorim should be considering the ex-Leicester man instead. The 38-year-old scored 10 goals and provided four assists in all competitions. Whereas, Calvert-Lewin netted just three goals and two assists for Everton last year.
What other free agent strikers could Man United consider?
Calvert-Lewin and Vardy are among a group of experienced free agent strikers, all of whom are more than capable of performing at the Premier League level. Another name that United could consider is former Newcastle number nine Callum Wilson. The English attacker left St James’ Park after a spell of five years that saw him score 49 goals in 130 matches for Eddie Howe’s side.
Furthermore, United could also consider former West Ham and Burnley striker Danny Ings, who is also available this summer after he left the London Stadium upon his contract expiry in June. He scored just one goal and provided two assists in an injury-prone season.
Alternatively, United could look abroad to former AC Milan striker Luka Jovic, who is also a free agent. The 27-year-old scored four goals in 17 games last year, he also dealt with injury problems. He scored 13 goals in 47 games for Milan in a spell of two years.