Manchester United have considered an approach for Bayern Munich striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, as the club looks to bolster Erik ten Hag’s squad with a cost-effective loan deal up top.
The Red Devils have limited transfer funds after splashing around £400m in the last two years and have looked to the loan market in recent years to plug holes in their squad amid Financial Fair Play (FFP) concerns. They bought in striker Wout Weghorst on loan from Burnley plus midfielder Marcel Sabitzer from RB Leipzig, and while the dup helped Erik ten Hag’s side win the Carabao Cup, they failed to score a single goal in the Premier League.
Manchester United have royally struggled for goals this season and are joint-third lowest goalscorers in the division. They splashed £72m for signing Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta in the summer and it took the young striker until the home game against Aston Villa on Boxing Day to break his Premier League duck. Anthony Martial’s fitness problems have no ending and the striker could be released at the end of the season while Marcus Rashford has looked out of form since the start of the campaign.
As a result, the Mancunian club are looking at recruiting a striker on loan in January. Bayern Munich’s Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has reportedly emerged as a potential target for Ten Hag’s Man United.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting linked with move to Old Trafford
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting struck 17 goals last season in all competitions for Bayern Munich but has struggled for regular football this season due to the signing of Harry Kane from Tottenham. He has started just twice in the Bundesliga and has not been in Thomas Tuchel’s first XI in any of Bayern’s Champions League group-stage fixtures. The Cameroon international has had to be content with substitute appearances, with Kane leading the Bavarians’ attack with aplomb.
Having seen Choupo-Moting struggle for minutes in Germany, Man United view the striker as a low-cost and realistic investment on loan until the end of the campaign. Martial’s fitness concerns, Rashford’s poor form and the inexperience of Hojlund seem to be showing in what has been a forgettable first half of the campaign for Ten Hag’s United, so the signing of Choupo-Moting makes sense.
The 34-year-old is an experienced striker and could help ease the burden of scoring goals from Hojlund’s young shoulders, whilst mentoring the Dane in different facets of his game. The ex-Stoke City man could provide a boost to United’s attack if he joins the club during the second half of the campaign.
Due to budgetary and FFP concerns, it won’t be surprising if the Red Devils manage to get a loan deal for Choupo-Moting done in the next couple of weeks of the January transfer window.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
