Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Manchester United transfer news: Dries Mertens and Teemu Pukki on long list of striker targets

Mertens is not moving, and the Old Trafford hierarchy have been warned by Norwich that Pukki was not available under any circumstances

Miguel Delaney
Chief Football Writer
Friday 31 January 2020 12:33 GMT
Comments
DO NOT USE Transfer Update Man United Have Confirmed The Signing Of Bruno Fernandes

Manchester United have made enquiries for Napoli’s Dries Mertens and considered a bid for Norwich City’s Teemu Pukki as part of a wide-ranging search for an emergency striker.

However Mertens is not moving, and the Old Trafford hierarchy have been warned by Norwich that Pukki was not available under any circumstances, as the bottom-placed seek to stay in the Premier League.

Marcus Rashford’s injury has led to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer striving to bring in a replacement striker in this window, leading to United investigating all manner of avenues. Along with Mertens and Pukki, some of the names they have pursued are Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani, Bournemouth’s Joshua King, Southampton’s Danny Ings, Shanghai Greenland Shenhua’s Odion Ighalo and Dalian Yifang’s Salomon Rondon.

While the emergency nature of Rashford’s injury explains the nature of some of the pursuits, their lateness has also meant that the deals are almost impossible to pull off. A common theme has been clubs – particularly those in the bottom half of the table – refusing to sell because the value of staying up is far higher than a one-off sale for a key player who offers goals.

Goals are what Solskjaer has been looking for, as an extra five to six may be the difference between qualifying for next season’s Champions League and not.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in