Not Obi or Hojlund: 19-year-old Man Utd gem could be Amorim's new Gyokeres

What a week it has been for Manchester United’s number nine, Rasmus Hojlund. You wait so long for a goal, and two come along in quick succession.

The Danish speedster had endured a dismal 21-game goal drought prior to finally getting on the scoresheet again on Sunday evening away at Leicester City, with the struggling striker showcasing remarkable composure to slot home on his weaker right foot against the relegation-threatened Foxes.

Just days on from that long-awaited goal, the 22-year-old leapt off the bench to clinch victory for his country against Portugal on Thursday night, the former Atalanta man condemning Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Dalot and Cristiano Ronaldo to a 1-0 defeat in their Nations League quarter-final clash.

While a return of nine goals this season for club and country makes for grim reading for the £64m signing, he has helped to lift the pressure on his shoulders this week, not least with 17-year-old sensation, Chido Obi, waiting in the wings for a starting berth back at Old Trafford.

That youthful pairing are currently vying to be Ruben Amorim’s main man through the middle, with the Portuguese coach still no doubt looking to find his next goalscoring talisman, in the mould of Sporting CP’s, Viktor Gyokeres.

Man Utd’s interest in Viktor Gyokeres

There is an argument to be made that Amorim has found his new attacking, Gyokeres-like figurehead in the form of Bruno Fernandes, although for all the playmaker’s brilliance, there is still a need for United to acquire a reliable, prolific presence to lead the line.

Indeed, in 82 games for the Red Devils to date, Hojlund has scored just 24 goals, while young Obi is still waiting to break his first-team duck, albeit while having made just four senior appearances. Summer signing Joshua Zirkzee, meanwhile, has scored just six times in his new surroundings.

With that in mind, it is then no surprise that the signing of a new centre-forward appears high on the agenda, with journalist Florian Plettenberg only recently naming the aforementioned Gyokeres among a raft of targets that Amorim and co are looking at.

The Swedish goal machine has been a revelation in Portugal since arriving from Coventry City for just £17m back in 2023, having notably scored 66 goals in just 68 games under Amorim’s watch.

Unsurprisingly, ever since the new United boss made the move to England, there has been talk of a reunion. However, The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell reported back in February that while Sporting could cash in for around €70m (£59m), it is ‘unlikely’ that the 26-year-old follows his former boss to Manchester.

As per Whitwell, the one-time Brighton and Hove Albion man is likely to want to join a team competing in the Champions League – something United, currently, won’t be able to offer – while the club themselves may have reservations, amid the pursuit of ‘younger signings’.

While there may be frustration at not handing Amorim the perfect attacking tool in Gyokeres, perhaps the Red Devils are already brewing the next version of the Swede…

Man Utd’s own Gyokeres

As two towering, Scandinavian marksmen like Gyokeres, it could be argued that both Hojlund and Obi are primed to evolve into that type of figure for Amorim, provided they are given time to develop.

That said, there could well be another, more suitable option in the equation, in the form of academy star, Ethan Wheatley, with the 19-year-old also a “clinical finisher”, in the words of analyst Ben Mattinson.

As per Mattinson, the promising Englishman possesses a lot of the “typical hold-up, link-up and channel running” that Gyokeres has shown at Sporting, while he is also deemed to be a “closer fit” to the former Coventry man than fellow youth star, Gabriele Biancheri.

Currently out on loan at League Two highflyers Walsall – for whom he has actually made just three appearances since arriving in January – Wheatley has previously dazzled in the youth set-up at United, scoring ten times in just 22 U21 outings.

The Stockport native – who, like Gyokeres, stands at 6 foot 2 – was also previously the star of the U18 side, after netting 14 goals in 28 games at that age group.

While it hasn’t worked out so far during Wheatley’s temporary stint away from Old Trafford, he did score for England’s U19 side against Wales in midweek, having also been awarded a new long-term contract with United earlier this month.

That show of faith by the club has indicated how highly regarded the teenager is at Carrington, with the rising star already making four first-team appearances for his parent club, including a late cameo in the 4-2 win over Leicester in the EFL Cup back in October.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

With Amorim having already shown his willingness to utilise the academy in recent weeks, amid the emergence of Obi and Harry Amass, United’s 250th graduate may still have hope of forcing his way into the senior reckoning next season.

Who knows, Wheatley could even prove himself to be the 40-year-old’s next Gyokeres.

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