Erling Haaland could be Manchester United’s No 9 for the next 10 years if they decide to spend big on the Norwegian says Michael Owen, who views the Borussia Dortmund star as the perfect striker to bring a run of stop-gap signings to a close at Old Trafford.
Considerable value has been found in ageing frontmen down the years by the Red Devils. Henrik Larsson, Robin van Persie, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani have all made important contributions.
None though have been long-term options for United, meaning that regular forays have had to be made into the transfer market for more goalscoring talent.
Owen is calling for interest in Haaland to be rekindled as the Red Devils seek to add a new Wayne Rooney to their ranks.
The former striker told Stadium Astro: “If you look at the recent past of Manchester United, they have been buying a lot of players that have been coming to the twilight of their career – when you look at Cavani, before that Ibrahimovic, before that Van Persie, Henrik Larsson.
“They have gone for players right at the end of their career. The last one they bought early on in their career is Wayne Rooney. At least then you have got a player that is going to last you for 10 years.
“At the moment, Manchester United have struggled to find that young player that is going to take them all the way as a No 9. I think the one player out there that springs to mind, a player that could be in their team for 10 years and stop them having to buy stop-gaps all the time, is Haaland at Dortmund. He is the player on everybody’s lips at the moment.”
Another ex-United frontman, Dimitar Berbatov, agrees that Haaland would be a shrewd addition, but he is also of the opinion that academy graduate Mason Greenwood could yet become the prolific central striker that the Red Devils are crying out for.
The Bulgarian said: “Definitely he’s [Haaland] the guy. He is still so young and the future is ahead of him. The amount of goals he is scoring is unbelievable. He could be a great fit for United if he develops in the same way he is doing now.
“He is going to cost a lot of money but for talent like this, you can try your best to buy him, but honestly I would like to see Mason Greenwood develop and become better and better. I’m a big admirer of him. I would like to see more chances given to him to show how good he is.
“I like Martial and Rashford as well. If United don’t go and try to buy someone, I would like to see those three develop.”
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