According to reports from British media such as Dailystar and goal, due to Manchester United's recent poor performance, with the opening of the January winter transfer window in the Premier League, Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has urgently called on the club's management to sign his top target Victor Yokeles, who he cannot wait until the summer to acquire; he needs this 2024 World Player of the Year in January. At the same time, in terms of goalkeepers, he hopes to introduce a new goalkeeper to compete with current goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Currently, Manchester United's performance in the Premier League is disappointing, having dropped to 14th place. In the last three matches, Manchester United failed to score a single goal but conceded seven, showing no attacking power, which is closely related to the insufficient strength of the team's front-line players. Amorim believes that to enhance the team's attacking power, urgent action must be taken in this month's winter transfer window to sign Swedish striker Yokeles, who scored 62 goals in 2024 and ranked first on the world's top scorers list.
Although Amorin previously stated that he would not bring in reinforcements from his former club during the winter window, as his situation at Manchester United worsens, he urgently needs his beloved central striker Yokeles to come to his aid. Amorim has made it clear to the club's management that he needs Yokeles now, not in the summer transfer window. It is expected that in the coming weeks, Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee may leave Old Trafford. Zirkzee, due to his poor performance, will be sold to the highest bidder. Signing Yokeles could cost Manchester United around 100 million euros, a deal that requires the approval of the club's two major owners, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family.
Yokeles' outstanding performance at Sporting Portugal has made him one of Europe's hottest new stars. In the 2024 world top scorer rankings, Yokeles scored a total of 62 goals for his club (52) and the Swedish national team (10), surpassing world-class forwards like Haaland, Kane, Lewandowski, and Mbappe to become the best scorer of 2024. This season, he scored 26 goals in 24 games, including a hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League in November. His market value on the German Transfer Market website has also risen to 75 million euros. The 26-year-old player has a release clause worth 100 million euros in his current contract. It is understood that if Yokeles decides to leave mid-season, Sporting Portugal's chairman Frederico Varandas will demand that Manchester United pay the full amount.
This news has already aroused the vigilance of some of Europe's biggest clubs, and is expected to trigger a fierce competition for this super forward. However, in fact, Manchester United's appointment of the player's former Sporting Portugal coach Amorim makes them one of the hottest favorites to sign Yokeles. Amorim and Yokeles established a close relationship during their time in Lisbon. Manchester United is also one of the teams with the fewest goals in the Premier League this season, urgently needing to sign a world-class finisher as soon as possible.
In addition to the front line, Amorim also hopes to strengthen the team's defense. He warned that Manchester United needs a new goalkeeper to challenge Andre Onana's No. 1 position. Although Onana, who has played 19 times and conceded 26 goals in the Premier League this season, has shown some improvement this season, he still tends to make mistakes, costing the team valuable points. Especially in the 3-2 loss against Nottingham Forest, his performance was severely criticized because he let Morgan Gibbs-White's weak shot slip past him and then unbelievably watched Chris Wood's header, which wasn't too powerful, fly into the far corner of the goal.
There is indeed Turkish goalkeeper Altay Bajindir in the Manchester United squad, however, Amorim does not consider him an ideal substitute choice behind Onana. Bajindir's two costly mistakes led to Manchester United's elimination from the League Cup quarter-finals with a 4-3 loss to Tottenham Hotspur. Since joining the club in 2023, the Turkish international has only played 8 times in all competitions and has yet to appear in the Premier League.
Amorim's start in England has been tough, and he admits that Manchester United risks being drawn into a relegation battle. In addition to a new goalkeeper, the young Portuguese coach also hopes to add options in midfield and attack in the next two transfer windows, but due to current profit and sustainability rules, Manchester United must sell before they can buy.
Manchester United will face their arch-rivals Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday in their first game of the new year, a heavyweight Premier League clash, with Onana expected to continue in his goalkeeper position. This match will be the first test for Manchester United in the new year and a crucial moment for Amorim to reshape Manchester United's defense.
The winter transfer window for the 2024-25 Premier League season has opened, with only a month left, Manchester United needs to step up its pace in strengthening the team to improve its current slump. Whether Manchester United can successfully sign a world-class forward and a capable goalkeeper will be the key to whether the team can reverse its decline this season.