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Erik ten Hag given two options and told to employ Manchester United treble-winning tactic
Erik ten Hag has been given two options to consider as an ex-Manchester United winger explains a treble-winning tactic that the manager could employ at Old Trafford.
Manchester United‘s scoring woes have been clear to see in the past few months, with Erik ten Hag‘s forwards misfiring across all competitions. Even top scorer Rasmus Højlund, who has five goals so far, has scored them all in the Champions League – he is yet to find the net in the Premier League.
Marcus Rashford only has one goal, Alejandro Garnacho one as well, while £85 million winger Antony is yet to register any goal involvement. Anthony Martial, too, has just one goal to his name this campaign.
Despite the signing of Højlund in the summer, United still lack a reliable focal point up front as the young Dane is yet to gain his years of experience in top-flight football, and former United winger Lee Sharpe feels that United should look to replicate what Sir Alex Ferguson had when his side won the treble buy having multiple striker options.
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Sharpe offered Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins as a great example of the type of player that could thrive at United on the “big stage”.
“I’m always surprised that most clubs only ever have one centre forward. When United won the treble they had four centre forwards,” Sharpe told Offers.Bet.
“I think because they play three up top now with only one centre forward it makes it a lot more difficult to have a squad with a few centre forwards in it, but I think Ollie Watkins would be great at United. I think he has great vision, great feet, can bring people into play, and can score goals. I think he’d relish playing on the big stage.”
Speaking further, Sharpe offered a second option in Ivan Toney, who has scored 63 goals in 111 appearances for Brentford.
“I think Ivan Toney would be good at most of the top six or eight clubs. I think he’s proven what a strong centre forward he is, how good he is holding the ball up, doesn’t get injured much and is someone you consistently name in most teams. I think Toney and Ollie Watkins at Villa are two centre forwards that most of the top six to eight clubs will be looking at.”
Toney is rather infamously serving an eight-month ban up to and including 16 January 2024 after accepting 232 breaches of the Football Association’s rules on betting. He was also fined £50,000.
Fabrizio Romano explained in October that Toney would likely cost within the region of £65 million for any Premier Laegue club who wanted his services, but with the player likely already wanting a move to a bigger club, this fee may be able to be negotiated.
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